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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.
\u201cAlways,\u201d Metellus said, \u201calways.\u201d
Smith is an extremely private person \u2014 he has yet to make an announcement about his future, and there\u2019s no guarantee he will \u2014 so it\u2019s impossible to know what he\u2019s going to do.
But even after the Vikings gave him a big sendoff in their final home game last season against the Packers \u2014 referee John Hussey announced that a Minnesota timeout late in the fourth quarter was \u201cto honor Harrison Smith\u201d \u2014 coach Kevin O\u2019Connell sounded as if he isn\u2019t done pitching Smith on the idea of continuing a career that is likely to land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
\u201cI think Harrison Smith is going to want to play football until he\u2019s old and gray, which the last time I checked had not happened yet,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201c \u2026 It never quite goes away. I mean, shoot, I wish I could go play. \u2026 But I think it\u2019s probably a deeper conversation than just the want to at this point.
\u201cThose conversations will take place, obviously, respectfully for Harrison throughout the summer and where he\u2019s at. Then as we get into training camp where he\u2019s at. It could be an ongoing thing, how our season goes and how he views it and ultimately what that looks like. But he\u2019s earned the respect of everybody in this building to have that type of dialogue and communication.\u201d
This is beginning to feel like a repeat of the 2010 offseason when Brett Favre\u2019s attempt to step away from football was interrupted by the Vikings\u2019 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\u2019t 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 \u2014 especially an outstanding one like Smith \u2014 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\u2019 desire to have Smith continue isn\u2019t surprising.
While he was no longer playing at a Pro Bowl level, Smith\u2019s 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\u2019 defense. Flores doesn\u2019t just want good athletes, he wants smart ones, and Smith was basically the professor of the Vikings\u2019 scheme.
\u201cHarrison, he\u2019s a great player as we all know,\u201d Flores said. \u201cI think everyone knows how special he\u2019s always been to me. Our time here together has been \u2026 was fantastic. To lose a guy like that it\u2019s not easy. \u2026 You always miss guys, and you always love to have them back. I\u2019ve told him that many times already, but at the same time, we\u2019ve got a good group. They\u2019re really working hard and doing a lot of really good things and collectively filling those shoes, I would say.\u201d
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\u2019t be dismissed either.
He\u2019s a free agent right now \u2014 the Vikings released him with a post-June 1 designation \u2014 but if he\u2019s going to play again, it almost certainly will be in Minnesota.
The Vikings\u2019 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\u2019s going to take time, and Smith\u2019s presence could play a big role in helping accelerate Thomas\u2019 learning curve. Meanwhile, Metellus is trying to be respectful, but doesn\u2019t hide his desire to see Smith wearing his No. 22 jersey again.
\u201cAt the end of the day, he\u2019s played a lot of football,\u201d Metellus said. \u201cWe\u2019ve built a great relationship off the field. Our families, we share a suite together so it\u2019s 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\u2019s a grown man, a family man and he has a lot of things he wants to focus on right now. So I\u2019m kind of letting that be, but we\u2019re big open arms if he wants to come in this building at any time.\u201d
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