![\"Harrison](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1354714528-e1696165724401.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780\")
<\/p>\nMinnesota Vikings\u00a0safety\u00a0Harrison Smith\u00a0hinted at\u00a0retirement\u00a0following a season-ending loss to the\u00a0Detroit Lions\u00a0\u2014 and that could lead to the Vikings bringing in a familiar name,\u00a0Antoine Winfield Jr.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bleach Report suggested the Vikings as a potential landing spot for Winfield, who is poised for free agency after his first All-Pro season with the\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinfield Jr. is a stat-sheet stuffer as he\u2019s an extremely versatile safety who can make an impact on all three levels of the defense. During the regular season, he logged elite grades from Pro Football Focus overall, against the run and as a pass-rusher while only being a few points shy of an elite mark in coverage,\u201d\u00a0Bleacher Report\u2019s Matt Holder wrote on January 12. \u201cThe former second-round pick is arguably one of the best players at the position in the league, so he\u2019ll undoubtedly be on top of any team\u2019s list that is looking for a safety on the open market.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Antoine](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1897521515-e1704917170912.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=782\")
<\/h2>\nWinfield, son of Vikings cornerback\u00a0Antoine Winfield Sr., grew up around the 2000s era Vikings and attended the University of Minnesota \u2014 making a potential homecoming a logical landing spot.<\/p>\n
Winfield enjoyed a career year helping the Buccaneers return to the playoffs after going all-in on their Super Bowl victory his rookie year. He\u00a0posted career-highs\u00a0in interceptions (3), passes defended (12), forced fumbles (6), fumble recoveries (4) and sacks (6.0). Spotrac projected Winfield to earn a\u00a0four-year, $74 million contract\u00a0worth $18.5 million a year.<\/p>\n
Smith carries a\u00a0$19.2 million cap hit\u00a0for the 2024 season that won\u2019t remain as is. He agreed to a pay cut last season but admitted he considered retirement then \u2014 and this offseason will be no different approaching his 35th birthday in February.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever I retire, I\u2019m not going to tell you,\u201d Smith said after the Vikings\u2019 final game of the 2023 season. \u201cYou\u2019ll figure it out. I\u2019ll say this: It\u2019s hard to have the ability to play and not have a desire to play. Whatever that gives you, I\u2019m not trying to be ominous or anything. Right now, my shoulder hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Vikings could free up $11.8 million by releasing Smith or if he decides to retire. Those funds could be used to make an immediate pivot to Winfield.<\/p>\n
![\"Harrison](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1242624035-e1661303173749.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=782\")
<\/h2>\nGrowing up around the Vikings, Winfield was always competitive with his dad\u2019s teammates, often beating them in Madden NFL at a young age.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was definitely better than the rest of us at Madden,\u201d\u00a0Smith told Vikings.com\u00a0in 2020. \u201cThere was a little basketball game in the basement, too. All the Winfield boys were always competing at something. Always wanted to beat us at everything. I think that\u2019s just innate in the whole family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The six-time Pro Bowl safety recalled being a first-year NFL player and what it meant to spend time with \u201cthe vet on the team,\u201d Winfield Sr., in his home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a big deal for us to see how a true pro lives his life and takes care of his family, and just the whole interaction,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI definitely look back on those times very fondly and appreciate the whole Winfield squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we all kind of knew that Antoine [Jr.] was definitely a baller, from a young age, just the way he went about competing and doing things,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Smith, who had a daughter, Eleanor, in May 2022, is now faced with fatherhood and the decision to retire this offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019d be cool if I had a process,\u201d Smith told the Star Tribune a few weeks ago. \u201cJust kind of continue living my life and spend some time with my family. When I start thinking about it, I\u2019ll start thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minnesota Vikings\u00a0safety\u00a0Harrison Smith\u00a0hinted at\u00a0retirement\u00a0following a season-ending loss to the\u00a0Detroit Lions\u00a0\u2014 and that could lead to the Vikings bringing in a familiar name,\u00a0Antoine Winfield Jr. Bleach Report suggested… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80799\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}