The Minnesota Vikings have a lot to figure out ahead of the 2026 season, but one of the biggest is the status of safety Harrison Smith. Smith has taken his time deciding whether he wants to return for a 15th season, and as he continues to be absent, his teammates began mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.
While Kevin O’Connell lamented not getting to see Smith when he was in town last week, it wasn’t the precursor to him joining his teammates.
In fact, Vikings fans probably won’t learn anything about Smith in the near future, as The Athletic’s Alec Lewis recently suggested he could take his decision all the way past this year’s training camp.
“Unlike in previous years, Smith has delayed a potential retirement decision beyond free agency. His understanding of defensive coordinator Brian Flores’s system minimizes the importance of spring reps.
Also, the longer he waits, the clearer he’ll be on how badly he wants to keep playing. The beginning of training camp doesn’t necessarily have to be a deadline. Neither does the end of [training camp].”
Former Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith continues to take his time with retirement decision
Smith’s retirement drama is reminiscent of the ones that Vikings fans mocked when Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers toyed with their futures as members of the Green Bay Packers. But it could be that Smith is trying to avoid what happened in 2025.
After agreeing to return early in the offseason, Smith ran into a personal health issue that impacted his offseason training and kept him out of the lineup until a Week 3 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
While the Vikings monitored his reps early in the season, Smith looked like himself late in the year, finishing with 54 total tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, 10 pass defenses, and two interceptions.
Since then, there have been all sorts of questions about Smith’s future, and it’s unclear when he’ll decide if he wants to come back. Training camp would be a natural deadline, but spending two weeks in the Eagan heat may not be appealing to anyone, let alone a 37-year-old NFL veteran.
A WWE-style return could also be in the cards if Smith plans on returning for a Week 1 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. But if he has questions about the Vikings' ability to compete this season, he could wait for a few weeks and join Minnesota late in the year to help their playoff push.
It may not seem ideal to rely on a 37-year-old safety to be a key part of the defense, but it seems like that’s the direction things are heading in.
The Vikings passed on Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman, who was considered a strong replacement for Smith, during April’s NFL Draft. While Josh Metellus is in one safety spot, the other is wide open with Jay Ward, Theo Jackson, Tavierre Thomas, Jacob Thomas, and Jakobe Thomas competing for jobs during training camp.
Thomas may have said too much about Smith’s future when he revealed he talked to him while speaking to reporters during rookie minicamp. While that seems like a hint, we have no way of knowing until Smith shows up wearing a purple uniform.
Until then, Vikings fans will wait and see if one of the greatest safeties in franchise history has one more year in him.
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