The Minnesota Vikings are preparing for their Week 1 contest against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 13. Nonetheless, with roster cuts now in the rearview mirror, the major question surrounding the team is whether Harrison Smith will be back for the 2026 NFL season.
Minnesota has let Smith take all of training camp and the preseason to decide whether he wants to play this campaign.
However, with the new season a few days away from starting and the season-ending injury to Jamal Adams in the preseason opener against the New York Giants, the Vikings might want to know which way Smith is leaning.
Still, any concerns about whether Smith will be back might be eased by how confident former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber is in the veteran safety’s return for another season.
“At this point, we never really know,” Leber said on the Sept. 1 edition of “Sound the Horn.” “I’m 100 percent certain he’s going to come back. I just am. There’s too much dialogue. There’s not enough people saying that he’s not going to do it.
“I feel like with a rumor as strong as this, with all of the connections that he has, with all the conversations people are supposedly having with this guy, the number of times that he’s been in town throughout the summer having conversations, getting together with people, it just seems like it’s a foregone conclusion that he’s going to come back.
“So, I’m 100 percent certain he’s going to come back. I’d be shocked if he didn’t. Now, the timing of it obviously is debatable.”
Will Minnesota Have to Wait Until Week 2 for Harrison Smith’s Return?
Moreover, Leber sees the logic in Smith signing with the Vikings heading into Week 2 rather than doing that business right now.
“Going into Week 2, you don’t have to guarantee his contract,“ Leber added. “That’s when a lot of veterans get signed. So, it’s very logical that he comes back going into Week 2. We do have an early bye.
“I do tend to think that the Vikings might try to just see what they’ve got in the first couple of weeks with the guys they have on the team, bring him back maybe Week 4 because I think we have a Week 6 bye and allow him to sort of get up to football speed, use that bye week to get reassimilated with the team, really hit the conditioning hard and then be ready for Week 7 and then beyond.
“So, I think he’s going to be back. I don’t have any proof of that, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And nobody has said anything other than what we’re talking about, that he’s going to be back on the team.”
Vikings’ Hopes of Having Harrison Smith Gets Another Boost
Last season, Smith showed that he can still produce despite being in his late 30s. He was out on the field for 793 total snaps, leading to a 68.9 defensive grade.
Furthermore, the Vikings veteran allowed an 81.0 passer rating when targeted by opposing quarterbacks. Smith surrendered 21 receptions in coverage and also contributed 42 solo tackles in run support and open-field situations.
Much like Leber sees Smith’s return happening, the Star Tribune’s Chip Scoggins believes the longer this situation takes, the better it will bode for the Vikings to have their veteran safety back for this season.
“The longer this goes, the more my confidence meter rises that he will return at some point,“ Scoggins said on the Aug. 27 edition of “Purple Daily.” “He would have said no by now. If he was done with football, he would tell you he’s done playing football. It’s not like he’s just never going to say no.
“Harrison has so much respect for this organization and everybody with it. When he’s done playing football, he’s going to tell you he’s done playing football. It’s not like he’s just going to, ‘Hey, whatever happened to Harrison Smith?‘ It’s not going to be that. I mean, he’s too big of a player.”
Vikings Handed Strong Harrison Smith Prediction Before Week 1