Vikings get Harrison Smith retirement update after NFL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

At this point, the lack of news might be good news as far as the Minnesota Vikings are concerned.

Since the season ended, there's been a question about whether legendary safety Harrison Smith would retire.

The Vikings did release him in March, but that was more procedural than anything else. Smith will certainly be brought back if he wants to keep playing.

Now that the draft has come and gone, it's starting to feel like a Smith return is very much in play, wrote ESPN's Kevin Seifert in a new article on Monday.

"At the end of the season, all signs were pointing toward the longtime Vikings safety retiring after 14 seasons," Seifert writes. "But free agency and now the draft have come and gone, and Smith hasn't made any public pronouncements. "The Vikings released him March 11 but have let him know that they would welcome him back if he decides to play in 2026. The team drafted safety Jakobe Thomas in the third round, but there have been no other notable additions at the position. The Vikings will move on if they have to, but they know they will have a better defense with Smith back on the field."

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Smith remains an instinctive ball hawk and playmaker even at this point in his career.

He's also a well-respected mentor, and there'd be no one better for the new draft pick Thomas to learn from than a guy like Smith.

The Vikings disappointingly missed the playoffs in 2025, but they've upgraded their QB position with Kyler Murray and should have a chance to make some noise in 2026.

It certainly seems like Smith is at least contemplating the possibility of being a part of that.

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