By Lindsey Young
The Hitman is back for another one.
Harrison Smith is returning for his 14th season as a Minnesota Viking after he and the team agreed to a restructured contract on Wednesday.
It's a journey that began in 2012, when the Vikings drafted Smith 29th overall. He became an immediate impact player, recording seven tackles and a pass defensed in each of his first three games. And in just his seventh career game, Smith returned his first career interception 31 yards for a touchdown.
He's also vaulted up the franchise leaderboard in regular-season starts (fourth in team history with 191) and games played (eighth all-time with 192).
Smith has totaled 1,117 career tackles (league stats), the most by a Vikings defensive back. He's recorded 37 interceptions, including five in 2014, 2017 and 2020; 20.5 sacks; 48 tackles for loss; 96 passes defensed; 12 forced fumbles and nine fumble recoveries.
Last season, Smith started 16 games for Minnesota and totaled 87 tackles, 1.0 sack, three tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and an impressive 10 passes defensed. He became the sixth player in NFL history to record at least 35 interceptions and 20 sacks, joining five members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The six-time Pro Bowler was named a First-Team All-Pro by The Associated Press in 2017.
