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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell.
The Minnesota Vikings have more than just the quarterback position to consider as they navigate an offseason that could either represent a step back for the 14-win franchise, or a leap forward into legitimate Super Bowl contention.
The primary issues for Minnesota aside from deciding who will start under center — Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy or a veteran signal-caller yet to be named — are the interior of the offensive line and the secondary.
The latter unit is arguably the bigger concern, even despite leading the league in interceptions last season. The reason is that all three starting cornerbacks and one starting safety are free agents in March unless Minnesota extends them before then. The other starting safety, Harrison Smith, could retire unless the Vikings can find a happy medium for the 36-year-old defensive back.
Darren Wolfson of KSTP reported last week on SKOR North that there is a good chance that Minnesota and Smith can work out an arrangement to bring him back for a 14th NFL season.
“Smith can still play, and I don’t think the Vikings need to break the bank to bring him back,” Wolfson said. “They can figure out the money. I get it. He [has taken] pay cuts the last couple years. So, to me, there’s interest in him playing at a reasonable number. I just think it makes all sorts of sense.”
Vikings Must Restructure Harrison Smith’s Contract to Keep Him in Minnesota Next Season
GettySafety Harrison Smith of the Minnesota Vikings.
Smith is a six-time Pro Bowler and can provide an anchor in the third year of defensive coordinator Brain Flores‘ system, as the secondary faces significant turnover.
That said, Minnesota must come to a contract restructure agreement with Smith ahead of the new NFL year or the safety will become an onerous financial burden in 2026.
“Smith … has a league minimum base salary of $1.255 million for 2025. But here’s where it gets tricky to bring him back: If he’s on the roster by the third day of the 2025 league year, his $25 million base salary for 2026 is fully guaranteed,” Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune wrote on February 15. “In other words, there’s a deadline for the Vikings to either restructure his contract or for the team and Smith to make a final decision about whether he’ll be back.”
Vikings Likely to Spend Big on Cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.
GettyCornerback Byron Murphy Jr. of the Minnesota Vikings.
There is zero chance that the Vikings allow Smith to swallow up $25 million in cap space two seasons from now, though one player on whom they probably are willing to spend big is cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.
“Murphy, 27, turned down a contract offer from the Vikings before 2024 and made his first Pro Bowl with a six-interception season,” Goessling wrote. “He’s set to be one of the top corners on the free agent market, meaning a new deal could cost the Vikings between $17 million and $20 million per season.”
Minnesota currently has $59.5 million in salary cap space, a number that will increase to somewhere above $80 million when the new league-wide salary cap bump kicks in ahead of free agency. Murphy is precisely the type of player on whom the Vikings are likely to spend, though he is also a candidate for the franchise tag if Minnesota chooses not to use it on Darnold in a tag-and-trade scenario.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
