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Vikings safety Harrison Smith
The Minnesota Vikings, awaiting a retirement decision from longtime star safety Harrison Smith, may have their ideal replacement waiting in the wings.
While Smith’s contract with the team has expired, it remains to be seen when a retirement announcement will come — or if one will be made at all.
“Whenever I retire, I’m not going to tell you,” the stoic 37-year-old safety said in January 2024. “You’ll figure it out.”
The 2025 season was widely understood as Smith’s final farewell after he mulled his retirement for the past few offseasons while under contract.
A line of communication with Smith’s upcoming decision to continue his career remains intact, but the Vikings should also explore potential replacements.
An ideal Smith successor has emerged in Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Dolphins, Minkah Fitzpatrick Trade Talks Emerge Amid Vikings’ Facing Harrison Smith Uncertainty
GettyMinkah Fitzpatrick
On Wednesday, February 18, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the Miami Dolphins “have had trade talks regarding 5x Pro Bowl S Minkah Fitzpatrick.
“Miami released four players earlier this week, including Tyreek Hill, and are in the early stages of resetting the roster under a new regime.”
Sources: The #Dolphins have had trade talks with teams regarding 5x Pro Bowl S Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Miami released four players earlier this week, including Tyreek Hill, and are in the early stages of resetting the roster under a new regime.
The fire sale in Miami could be a prime opportunity for the Vikings to secure their future at safety.
Selected by the Dolphins 11th overall in the 2018 draft, Fitzpatrick was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers a year later during Brian Flores’ first year as head coach.
Fitzpatrick, 29, carved out an illustrious career in Pittsburgh, making five Pro Bowls with the Steelers before he was traded back to Miami in June 2025 in exchange for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith. He finished the 2025 season as Pro Football Focus’ fifth-highest graded safety in his Dolphins homecoming.
For those concerned about any hard feelings about his trade to Pittsburgh during Flores’ tenure, the two seemed to squash any differences when Flores arrived in Pittsburgh as a linebackers coach during the 2022 season.
“Minkah Fitzpatrick calls Brian Flores a ‘great coach’ and that he’s ‘excited’ about him coming here and getting to know him again after his exit from Miami. There’s no leftover tension,” Penn Live’s Nick Fabaugh reported in 2022. “Says Flores is going to address things and that he’s detail-oriented.”
Brian Flores Can Mold Minkah Fitzpatrick into Vikings, Harrison Smith Role
Approaching his age-30 season, Fitzpatrick is entering the twilight of his career, which comes with Father Time’s inevitable athletic decline.
But that doesn’t mean Fitzpatrick wouldn’t be a valuable asset to the Vikings defense.
Flores gave Smith’s career new life in a free safety role where his instincts and vision became his greatest strength. Of course, this required a deep knowledge and understanding of the scheme that is required of players who see the field for Flores.
Fitzpatrick has toggled between free safety and strong safety throughout his career, but given the slot presence of Josh Metellus, Fitzpatrick could return to the back of the defense as a secondary field general.
While he has just a pair of interceptions the past two seasons, taking a lion’s share of snaps as a slot corner and box safety, Fitzpatrick tallied 17 interceptions from 2019 to 2022 when playing primarily free safety.
Flores could unlock a potential career renaissance for Fitzpatrick if the Vikings make a deal with the Dolphins.
Trevor Squire is a sports journalist covering the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. Trevor studied journalism at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, making stops at the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can reach him at trevor.squire@heavy.com and follow him on Twitter @trevordsquire. More about Trevor Squire
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