‘Reversing his aging,’ Vikings safety Harrison Smith inspires lofty goals for his teammates

Safety Harrison Smith said he “struggled less” with deciding to play Vikings season No. 14 than previous offseasons, but his seatmate thought otherwise on the flight back from the team’s 27-9 playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams in January.

“It felt like he was done to me,” right tackle Brian O’Neill said Tuesday at TCO Performance Center in Eagan. “[But] I saw him the next day, and he kind of had a little look in his eye that maybe there was something unfinished.”

“He wouldn’t come back if he didn’t think there was a chance,” O’Neill added. “Clearly he sees a chance, and I believe there’s a chance.”

Unfinished business has been a mantra: “More Is Required” was printed on the T-shirts as players returned to team headquarters last week for the start of the voluntary offseason program.

Smith and the Vikings’ remade secondary will have a big hand in whether the defense continues to ascend in Year 3 under coordinator Brian Flores. The Vikings led the NFL with 24 interceptions last season.

Gone are safety Camryn Bynum, who signed with the Colts in free agency, and cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin, who are both unsigned. The Vikings re-signed cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. to a big payday, added former Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers and extended safety Theo Jackson on a deal that suggests he’ll have a bigger role replacing Bynum.

The team guaranteed $8 million to Smith ahead of his age-36 season.

“It seems like he’s reversing his aging somehow,” safety Josh Metellus said. “I don’t know how he does it. Every year, he looks better and better.”

The Vikings need a big jump from Jackson, a valued reserve who has yet to make his first NFL start. Jackson, a sixth-round pick by the Titans in 2022, has appeared in 43 games since arriving in Minnesota in 2022 after Lewis Cine broke his leg in his rookie season.

“It’s been special to see his development,” Metellus said. “I feel like his story is similar to mine; both sixth-round picks, he was cut [by the Titans].”

Metellus said he’s happy for Bynum, “one of my best friends in the league.” Bynum signed for $15 million annually with the Colts.

O’Neill, a team captain, said he and his wife, Bryn, went to dinner with first-round selection Donovan Jackson, the Ohio State guard, and Jackson’s girlfriend after the Vikings drafted Jackson with the 24th overall pick last week.

Among the dinner topics was Jackson’s switch from left guard to left tackle in the middle of the Buckeyes’ national championship season last fall. O’Neill said he instantly gained respect for his new teammate, recalling a moment before the 2020 season when O’Neill was suddenly thrown into playing left tackle when Riley Reiff and the team were in a contract dispute.

“We weren’t sure if Riley Reiff was going to be here,” O’Neill said. “They said, ‘Hey, if he’s not here, you’re playing left tackle.’ I was freaking out. I played it in college, and I’m like, ‘It’s not going to go well.’ ... Better [Jackson] than me, I guess.”