The Harrison Smith conversation has always been a “will he or won’t he?” when it comes to whether he will return to play for the Vikings this season. However, based on the noise coming out of Minnesota over the past few days, it seems like the discourse is rapidly escalating to a “when will he?”
Vikings former Pro Bowl linebacker Chad Greenway, who spent his entire 11-year career donning the purple and gold, is the latest to throw gas on the Harrison Smith fire. When speaking to KFAN1003, he said the future Hall of Famer could return around the team’s Week 2 matchup in Chicago.
Greenway played alongside Smith for five years. His opinion on the veteran’s future should not be taken with a grain of salt. It holds some serious weight.
He’s not on an island with that opinion, either. There is a growing belief that it’s only a matter of time before Smith’s entrance music begins blaring from the rafters. Purple Daily’s Judd Zulgad provided a similar timeline when speaking on the topic yesterday.
“My guess, right now, I think he’s coming back,” Zulgad said. “Anybody who thought that guy was going to set one foot inside of TCO [Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center – Vikings’ training facility] before the end of training camp is crazy. Within the first quarter of the season, I think he’ll come back.”
Harrison Smith Should Be In Game-Shape Relatively Quickly
This isn’t a situation where they’ll be picking up a veteran off the street that they’ll need to catch up to speed. Harrison Smith knows the Vikings’ defense like the back of his hand.
Once they lock him in, he’ll be able to immediately reclaim his starring role for Minnesota’s defense. While he’ll probably need to knock off some rust after skipping out on training camp, no ramp-up period will be required. Head coach Kevin O’Connell also spoke to the media on Wednesday and answered his daily dose of Harrison Smith inquiries.
“I’ve had my kind of weekly, you know, dialogues and discussions with him that have ranged to a lot of different topics,” O’Connell said. “I’ve talked to him this week, and kind of just continuing to, in addition to all those other fun things to talk about, have some conversations about where he’s at, and what he’s thinking, and we’ll keep you guys updated if there is an update on that.”
It seems like an update is right on the horizon… and it couldn’t come soon enough.
The Vikings Might Really Need Him
It’s still August, and the Vikings defense has already undergone a roller coaster. There was a ton of buzz coming out of training camp about free agent addition Jamal Adams. Josh Metellus was expected to take over many of Smith’s responsibilities, and they hoped Adams would fill the role of the Swiss Army Knife on the defensive side of the ball.
Unfortunately, that excitement didn’t last long. Adams tore his quad in the team’s preseason opener, and will be sidelined for the entire 2026 campaign.
From there, undrafted rookie Jacob Thomas looked like a revelation in Minnesota’s secondary. Pro Football Focus gave him the highest grade (92.2) among all rookies over the first two weeks of preseason. However, in a cruel twist of fate, Thomas also hurt his ankle when attempting to knock down a pass in tonight’s preseason finale against Denver. While we don’t yet know the severity of the injury, it didn’t look good.
With half the Vikings’ safety room being in the infirmary, Smith’s impending return has never been more essential. His experience and leadership would go a long way in shoring up their issues on the back end.
Harrison Smith’s Ex-Vikings Teammate Provides A Concrete Timeframe For His Return