Open door policy: Vikings make it clear they would welcome Harrison Smith's return – Substack

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Harrison Smith might be out of sight as the Vikings conduct minicamp at TCO Performance Center, but he remains top of mind for many who are hoping he will have a change of heart when it comes to walking away from the NFL.
Josh Metellus, who spent the past six seasons playing alongside Smith, was the latest to make that clear on Wednesday when asked if he continued to hold out hope his fellow safety might return for a 15th season.
“Always,” Metellus said, “always.”
Smith is an extremely private person — he has yet to make an announcement about his future, and there’s no guarantee he will — so it’s impossible to know what he’s going to do.
But even after the Vikings gave him a big sendoff in their final home game last season against the Packers — referee John Hussey announced that a Minnesota timeout late in the fourth quarter was “to honor Harrison Smith” — coach Kevin O’Connell sounded as if he isn’t done pitching Smith on the idea of continuing a career that is likely to land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“I think Harrison Smith is going to want to play football until he’s old and gray, which the last time I checked had not happened yet,” O’Connell said. “ … It never quite goes away. I mean, shoot, I wish I could go play. … But I think it’s probably a deeper conversation than just the want to at this point.
“Those conversations will take place, obviously, respectfully for Harrison throughout the summer and where he’s at. Then as we get into training camp where he’s at. It could be an ongoing thing, how our season goes and how he views it and ultimately what that looks like. But he’s earned the respect of everybody in this building to have that type of dialogue and communication.”
This is beginning to feel like a repeat of the 2010 offseason when Brett Favre’s attempt to step away from football was interrupted by the Vikings’ decision to send Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson and Ryan Longwell to Hattiesburg, Miss., on a private plane to convince the quarterback to play another season. This came in August after training camp had ended, and Favre did agree to return.
The Vikings would be hoping for far better results in this case, given Favre had an MVP-type season in leading the Vikings to the 2009 NFC title game, but couldn’t repeat that performance as the 2010 season fell apart and his NFL record of 297 consecutive regular-season games started came to an end in December of that year because of injury.
I have been against a player in any sport — especially an outstanding one like Smith — sticking around too long and going out like Favre did. Better to retire a year too early than a year too late. But the Vikings’ desire to have Smith continue isn’t surprising.
While he was no longer playing at a Pro Bowl level, Smith’s football acumen made him a coach on the field and an extension of defensive coordinator Brian Flores. This was no small feat given the intricacies of Flores’ defense. Flores doesn’t just want good athletes, he wants smart ones, and Smith was basically the professor of the Vikings’ scheme.
“Harrison, he’s a great player as we all know,” Flores said. “I think everyone knows how special he’s always been to me. Our time here together has been … was fantastic. To lose a guy like that it’s not easy. … You always miss guys, and you always love to have them back. I’ve told him that many times already, but at the same time, we’ve got a good group. They’re really working hard and doing a lot of really good things and collectively filling those shoes, I would say.”
Flores might have been trying to convince himself of this more than anything. It sounds as if the Vikings would be amenable to any potential timeline that Smith might put on returning for this season. That could mean he agrees to join the team at some point in training camp, or maybe wait until camp is concluded and the regular season nears. An in-season return can’t be dismissed either.
He’s a free agent right now — the Vikings released him with a post-June 1 designation — but if he’s going to play again, it almost certainly will be in Minnesota.
The Vikings’ list of reasons for wanting Smith back includes the role he could play in mentoring third-round safety Jakobe Thomas. The Vikings selected Thomas out of Miami in April in part because they like his style, but also because they see him as a smart player who has the potential to do some of the things Smith has been doing.
But that’s going to take time, and Smith’s presence could play a big role in helping accelerate Thomas’ learning curve. Meanwhile, Metellus is trying to be respectful, but doesn’t hide his desire to see Smith wearing his No. 22 jersey again.
“At the end of the day, he’s played a lot of football,” Metellus said. “We’ve built a great relationship off the field. Our families, we share a suite together so it’s bigger than football, and at this point in his life and in my life, I just try to be a good friend and not pressure anything from my own desires. Obviously, I would love to have him back in this building, but he’s a grown man, a family man and he has a lot of things he wants to focus on right now. So I’m kind of letting that be, but we’re big open arms if he wants to come in this building at any time.”
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