Former Vikings starting defender finds a new home in the AFC West

After he was let go before the season, former Minnesota Vikings safety Anthony Harris recently signed a deal with the Denver Broncos.

Before the start of the 2022 season, former Minnesota Vikings safety Anthony Harris was informed by the Philadelphia Eagles that he was not going to be a part of their final roster. The Eagles attempted to keep Harris around by signing him to their practice squad, but the veteran safety actually ended up asking for his release shortly after.

The future of Harris in the NFL has seemed a bit uncertain since then, but on Wednesday, he got a call from the Denver Broncos and agreed to sign with their practice squad.

The Broncos ended up developing a need for some safety help following an unfortunate quad injury to Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons on Monday night in their loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Simmons was placed on injured reserve, so he’ll have to miss at least four games, which is why Denver brought in Harris.

Will former Minnesota Vikings safety Anthony Harris make an impact for the Denver Broncos?

Harris spent his last three seasons with the Vikings as a starting safety and he was able to develop into one of the best in the NFL at his position.

But he’ll be turning 31 in October and the prime of his career in the league is clearly behind him. This doesn’t mean that he can’t help the Broncos make up for the loss of Simmons though.

First, Harris has to do whatever he can to convince Denver to sign him to their active roster. That’s no guarantee, but he was still solid enough for the Eagles last season that the Broncos might consider him as a better option than some of the other options they currently have safety.

Denver is not on Minnesota’s schedule this season, so there will be no revenge game for Harris if he ends up on the Broncos’ active roster this year. Had he been kept around by the Eagles, he would have had a chance to go up against the Vikings next Monday. But he’s not and now he at least doesn’t have to worry about getting embarrassed out on the field by Justin Jefferson.