One of the burning questions from the 2025 Minnesota Vikings season has been where safety Harrison Smith has been and whether he is nearing the end of his NFL career.
The six-time Pro Bowler has not been quite the same this season as he has been in the last 13 years he's played in the NFL. Smith's numbers have been down in 2025, sparking conversations about whether he will be back in 2026 or if he is knocking on retirement's door.
Those conversations might be on hold after the vintage performance he put up in the 23-10 win over the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day. A recent ESPN article posed the simple question from that game: whether Smith's stellar play against Detroit was enough to convince him and the Vikings to run it back next year.
"It has been a while since the 36-year-old has made so many high-impact plays in a game. But Smith produced a sack, an interception, two batted passes, and two tackles for loss as the Vikings' defense forced six turnovers.
Smith hasn't said that he plans to retire, but there are many people in and around the franchise who suspect he will. But if he can still play like this, perhaps he could once against delay that decision."
Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith might have shown that he's still got some juice in the tank
The 2025 season was always going to be kind of risky as to whether the Vikings would continue their success from 2024 or if they needed a year to get the quarterback situation figured out. Despite Minnesota's defense being statistically in the top 10, the offense went through significant growing pains.
All that means is that once offensive-minded head coach Kevin O'Connell fixes the offense's issues, the 2026 unit will be good. That also means the Vikings will be back to being contenders.
This year, Smith has racked up 54 tackles, 10 pass deflections, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in 14 games. Typically, Smith would have more tackles in the stats, but he's still showing that he can take the ball away from the offense.
It is getting close to the end of Smith's NFL career, as the production has gone down. Regardless, he still seems to be playing at a high enough level that he can start in the NFL.
The Vikings need to start planning for the future and find a replacement for Smith, but he showed he can still play, so why not bring him back? Having a veteran leader who can serve as a coach on the field makes a ton of sense for a defense that needs one.
Smith can't go out like this, as Vikings fans want to see him run off into the sunset with a Super Bowl ring on his finger.