Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith may have played the final game of his tenured NFL career. On Sunday, Jan. 4, Smith and the rest of coach Kevin O’Connell’s 2025 Vikings team defeated Matt LaFleur’s Green Bay Packers 16-3 in Week 18 on their home pitch, the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Given that this was the Vikings’ final game of the season, as they have been officially eliminated from postseason play, fans are speculating that Smith may be heading into retirement soon. This was given more context by play-by-play commentators Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta during the broadcast, as Smith checked out in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter.
“ Meantime, Harrison Smith is gonna get a well-deserved ovation as he will come off the field, Arch. And again, this is what everyone is wondering here in Minneapolis: there’s his family up in their luxury box in US Bank Stadium, wondering if this is the end, the final time that they see him in a Vikings uniform,” Dedes said on the broadcast.
“Well, he is an all-time great and a legend. You know, I really would’ve loved to see him get that, that interception to get 40. But, it doesn’t get much better than that true greatness, durability. There’s nothing that he can’t do on the football field. It’s been a real joy to watch his career,” Archuleta responded.
14 seasons with the @Vikings. A fitting send off for Harrison Smith. pic.twitter.com/yv7Y0rgo27
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026
Smith has spent his entire career, which is now at 14 years, with the Minnesota-based franchise ever since he was drafted by the team in the 2012 NFL Draft with the 29th overall pick in the first round. The recent NFC Defensive Player of the Week has since become a certified fan-favorite among the Vikings faithful, as Smith has been lauded for his loyalty and dependability for over a decade now.
If indeed he has decided to step away, an announcement should be made soon by Smith’s camp or the Vikings franchise.
The Minnesota Vikings Dominate The Green Bay Packers In Harrison Smith’s Potential Last NFL Game
If it was Harrison Smith’s last game for both his NFL career and the Minnesota Vikings, he swung on the heels of a dominant 13-point victory over the Green Bay Packers, 16-3.
Smith was given a rightful standing ovation as he checked out of the game to a roaring Minnesota home crowd, as the Vikings finished the year with an overall record of 9-8.
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