According to Ian Rapoport, the Vikings have placed the franchise tag on S Anthony Harris.
Harris seemed to be in line for a massive deal on the open market, as Vikings HC Mike Zimmer seemed to indicate this offseason that making a major investment in both safeties wasn’t a good allocation of salary for his defense.
However, it’s possible the Vikings could be trying to explore a trade to get back more than a potential compensatory pick for Harris.
Per Over The Cap, the franchise tag for safeties will cost $12.62 million guaranteed for the 2020 season.
Harris, 27, wound up signing on with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Virginia back in 2015. He spent most of his rookie season on the Vikings’ practice squad before eventually being called up in December.
Harris re-signed with the Vikings as a restricted free agent in 2019. He was slated to be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career this offseason.
In 2019, Harris played in 14 games and recorded 60 total tackles, one fumble recovery, six interceptions including one returned for a touchdown and 11 passes defensed. He was rated as Pro Football Focus‘ No. 1-ranked safety out of 86 qualifying players.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
