Another Former Vikings Starter Officially Retires
A few Minnesota Vikings players from the Mike Zimmer era have called it quits in the last month, including linebacker Anthony Barr, running back Latavius Murray, and another linebacker, Jordan Hicks.
Yet another former Minnesota Vikings defender from the Mike Zimmer era has officially announced his retirement from the NFL, closing the book on a fine career.
And another somewhat formally joined the crowd last week, as former Vikings safety Anthony Harris unceremoniously announced his retirement on the Access Vikings podcast.
Former Vikings Safety Anthony Harris Reveals His Career Is Over
Harris last played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022.
Anthony Harris Retires
Harris didn’t factor into the 2023 or 2024 campaign for any NFL team, so most fans assumed that he retired, though no formal announcement accompanied the premonition.
He said on Access Vikings: “Playing years are done. A year after being with the Broncos in 2022, I took 2023 and just continued to work out, and I said, ‘After this year, I’m done.’ So the following year, which was last year, I did a little bit in the coaching space.”
“I helped out with the Eagles during training camp to kind of see if that was something that I wanted to get into. Then after that, I kind of moved on to doing things in the real estate space, in the financial space, and that’s been great for me.”
Therefore, Harris cleared up the mystery. He’s done.
Harris with the Vikings
Harris suffered a torn labrum during the lead-up to the 2015 NFL Draft, causing him to fall off the board altogether that April, and then landed in Minnesota’s lap. Former general manager Rick Spielman plucked him from undrafted free agency, and to an extent, the rest is history.
Minnesota used Harris as a depth safety for his first few seasons, transitioning into a starter around 2018 and fully taking the starting reins next to Harrison Smith in 2019.
Harris would lead the NFL interceptions in 2019, prompting Spielman to use the franchise tag on Harris in 2020. To date, that was the last time that Minnesota has used the franchise tag in any capacity.
Following the 2020 campaign, Spielman did not re-sign Harris, and he landed with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he’d start 14 games in 2021. All told, Harris played 81 games in Minnesota, with 47 starts and 9 interceptions.
Full NFL Resume
Harris’ days as a starter abruptly ended after the 2021 season in Philadelphia. The Eagles did not re-sign him, creating a free-agent relationship with the Denver Broncos in 2022, a team generally managed by George Paton, an ex-Vikings executive, who helped Spielman find Harris in 2015 undrafted free agency.
And then that was it for Harris. No team signed him after the quiet 2022 season.
Here’s his NFL resume:
- Minnesota Vikings (2015–2020)
- Philadelphia Eagles (2021)
- Denver Broncos (2022)
- Philadelphia Eagles (2022)
Harris banked 356 total tackles in eight seasons.
An Undrafted Success Story
These days, Minnesota is well-known for its prowess in finding undrafted free agents. Ivan Pace Jr. can attest. Adam Thielen was another example from the Spielman era.
Harris should’ve been drafted in 2015, only forced off the board due to the injury. Undeterred by the injury status, Spielman gave Harris an audition, and he turned it into a six-year career in Minnesota.
Hopefully, Harris continues on his coaching path, as his story and performance are undoubtedly inspiring.
More Anthony Harris Takes
The Viking Age‘s Adam Patrick wrote about Harris this week: “Following a college career at the University of Virginia, Harris joined Minnesota in 2015 as an undrafted rookie, and he spent the majority of his first season in the NFL on the Vikings’ practice squad. Harris’s tenure with the Vikings ended in the 2021 offseason when he signed a one-year deal to play for the Philadelphia Eagles.”
“In total, he appeared in 81 games during a six-year span with Minnesota. Most of his time on the field in the early part of his career with Minnesota was spent on special teams and as a fill-in starter, but in 2019, after the Vikings moved on from safety Andrew Sendejo, Harris was finally given the opportunity to be the team’s other full-time starting safety next to Harrison Smith.”
Harris will turn 33 this autumn.
“As a permanent fixture in Minnesota’s starting lineup, Harris definitely made the most of his increase in snaps on the defensive side of the ball in 2019 and 2020. With the Vikings in the 2019 season, he finished with 60 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and six interceptions, including a 20-yard pick-six against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13,” Patrick added.
“Harris then followed that up with a 2020 performance for Minnesota in which he accumulated 104 tackles and seven pass breakups.”
Vikings fans will remember Harris fondly, no matter what.
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