Vikings might’ve just told fans what Harrison Smith won’t say himself

Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith
Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith | Kevin Sabitus/GettyImages

Most have assumed that we've already seen Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith play his final snap in the NFL, but he hasn't made any sort of official announcement about his future yet.

Well, the Vikings might have just unintentionally revealed Smith's decision for him.

On Wednesday, Minnesota posted a video on its official YouTube page titled "Harrison Smith NFL Career Highlights". This would be a pretty odd video to post if Smith wasn't going to retire, right?

Minnesota Vikings
Harrison Smith NFL Career Highlights | @vikings on YouTube

Did the Minnesota Vikings spoil Harrison Smith's retirement announcement?

Even though Smith retiring from the NFL after this season already seemed inevitable, the Vikings' decision to post this video on Wednesday appears to confirm his exit.

Following Minnesota's final game of the 2025 regular season, the veteran safety didn't reveal if his time in the league had come to a close or not.

But for anyone who watched how the Vikings treated Smith in the season finale by having him come out last in the pre-game player introductions and stopping the matchup for fans to give him a standing ovation when he was taken out near the end of the game, the writing seemed to already be written on the wall.

Despite Smith's time in the NFL appearing to be over, Minnesota bringing back defensive coordinator Brian Flores for at least one more season might be the one thing that keeps the Pro Bowl safety from officially handing in his retirement papers.

A scenario where Smith is allowed to skip OTAs and most of training camp if he returns for the 2026 season might be something that both he and the Vikings would be interested in.

Smith has raved about playing for Flores during the last few seasons, and it's safe to say Minnesota's defensive coordinator would love to have the future Hall of Famer back in the lineup for the 2026 campaign.

It's also possible that we might never get an official retirement announcement from Smith. He's always been a bit mysterious with how he carries himself off the football field, so him just exiting the sport without an official announcement might be exactly how he would like his career to end.

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