To Honor Harrison Smith: One of the Vikings' All-Time Best

Matt Fries looks back at Harrison Smith's career and his Hall-of-Fame case.

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

As time wound down in the Minnesota Vikings’ Week 18 win against the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings called a timeout. Referee John Hussey made the announcement in a unique way, saying:

“Minnesota charged timeout to honor Harrison Smith.”

Games have certainly been paused or stopped before to recognize individual players or achievements, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen an official make the announcement.

For example, when Peyton Manning broke (what was at the time) Brett Favre’s all-time touchdown record in 2013, the NBC broadcast did a great job of incorporating the stadium audio into the production, but the officials didn’t actually make an announcement, and the game continued, with the extra point happening off-screen.

The announcement was a nice touch to an emotional sendoff for Smith. The game conditions, where the Vikings were shutting out the rival Packers in a game that didn’t matter, allowed the team to celebrate its star in this fashion. The reason we don’t see this type of announcement more often is that the stars needed to align for the Vikings to play a game that didn’t matter, and one they were winning at home in, that very well could be Smith’s final game.

Can you imagine trying to honor Smith during the regular season finale or playoff game last year?

While nothing has been officially announced, it certainly feels like Smith will retire. Based on how he brought his family to the game, the in-game announcement, and his emotional post-game interviews after the game against the Detroit Lions the week prior, all the signs are there. Smith may not have made a huge impact in his final game, but that’s because the Packers simply weren’t trying. Instead, as time goes on and muddies memories, fans will likely remember his standout performance against the Lions, with a sack and an INT as the final hurrah in a legendary career.

A Vikings Legend

Whether he retires or not, Smith will go down as one of the Vikings’ franchise legends. He is one of just four Vikings to start in over 200 regular season games, and his 207 games played for the team rank fifth in history, behind Jim Marshall, Mick Tingelhoff, Fred Cox and Carl Eller.

In the history of the NFL, there are only 114 players to have recorded 200 or more starts in their career. Smith is one of them.

Smith ranks fourth in Vikings’ history in interceptions with 39. His four career Interception Return TDs are the most in team history. Versatility has been the hallmark of Smith’s game, and his effectiveness as a blitzer. His 21.5 career sacks rank 25th in team history, but are miles above the next DB (Joey Browner, with 9.5). Smith’s longevity also earned him the most tackles, at least since 1994 in Vikings history, with 859 solo tackles.

(Author’s note: Pro-Football-Reference (PFR), the source of my data, notes that tackle statistics are available since 1994 but also list tackle totals before then. That's because tackle statistics from before 1994 are not necessarily comparable to those after; that year the NFL officially started separating out solo tackles and assists. PFR lists Carl Lee, who played from 1983-1993, as having 771 tackles)

Smith certainly has an argument to be the best defensive back in Vikings’ history, and he’s at least top three, along with Hall-of-Famers Paul Krause and Joey Browner. From a longevity and production standpoint, it’s hard to argue with Smith’s resume.

The Vikings selected Smith out of Notre Dame with the 29th overall pick in 2012. Having already taken Matt Kalil with the fourth overall pick, then-GM Rick Spielman traded the 35th and 98th picks to the Baltimore Ravens to go up and get Smith. Those picks turned out to be Courtney Upshaw and Geno Gradkowski.

Smith was one of just nine players selected in the 2012 NFL Draft to play in 2025. He was the second safety selected in the 2012 Draft, behind Mark Barron, who flamed out as a safety and had the time to reinvent himself and find success as a linebacker, with an eight-year career. He’s been out of the NFL for six seasons. Luke Kuechly, also taken in the top 10 of that draft, is currently a finalist for the Hall of Fame.

When Smith entered the league, Leslie Frazier was the Vikings’ HC, and that season, Adrian Peterson became the last non-QB to win the NFL MVP award. Smith made an immediate impact, starting all 16 games as a rookie and returning two INTs for TDs.

For his first two years, Smith was relegated to a deep safety role in Fraizer’s static, two-high scheme that ran mostly Tampa 2. It took until Smith’s third season and the arrival of Mike Zimmer to unlock Smith’s versatility, as Zimmer helped Smith develop from a very good safety into an elite safety.

In 2012, Smith played 149 snaps in the box, 44 in the slot, and a whopping 900 snaps as a deep safety, per PFF. He missed half of 2013 with an injury, but played deep on over 75% of his active snaps that season. In 2014, Smith’s role was transformed, playing 304 snaps in the box, 137 in the slot, and 614 deep, 58% of the time. Smith had rushed the passer just 19 times in his two seasons, but he rushed 41 times in 2014. He’s only dipped below 35 pass rushes once since then – in 2022, with Ed Donatell’s terrible defense.

Zimmer’s arrival brought out the best in Smith. The alignment versatility and aggressiveness in Smith’s new role allowed him to unlock his playmaking instincts, and he recorded five interceptions and three sacks in the 2014 season. PFF recognized Smith’s breakout season and named him a First-Team All-Pro, but the rest of the league lagged behind. Smith missed the Pro Bowl and did not make the AP All-Pro team

(Author’s note: Smith did receive 7 All-Pro votes in 2014, but missed the cut for Second Team. Behind Earl Thomas, voters essentially had a split opinion on safety that year, with Eric Weddle, Kam Chancellor, and Glover Quin each earning between 13 and 16 votes. Other players receiving fewer votes made it at other positions, like Tony Romo’s 3 votes at QB or Fletcher Cox’s 5 votes at DE).

In 2015, Smith continued his high level of play, the Vikings made the playoffs, and the recognition came. He made his first of five consecutive Pro Bowls, and he had people comparing him to the legendary Troy Polamalu. He helped the Vikings play as one of the league’s two best defenses and reach the NFC Championship game in 2017, and earned his lone AP First-Team All-Pro honor, reaching Second-Team in 2018. Smith got back to the Pro Bowl one last time in 2021, in his age-32 season and Zimmer’s last season as Vikings’ head coach.

At that point, it may have been perfectly reasonable for Smith to ride off into the sunset. He kept playing and recorded five interceptions under Donatell in 2022.

Then Brian Flores arrived, and he reprised his role as a do-it-all master of disguise for the last three seasons.

Smith was never a boisterous leader in the Vikings’ locker room. He was a quiet, almost reclusive player who was rarely seen outside of a football context. He was a leader nonetheless, with players and coaches raving about his football intelligence and locker room presence.

Last offseason, he had Kevin O’Connell practically begging him to come back to the team, and I expect he’ll experience the same this year.