Now that the franchise tag deadline has arrived, Minnesota Vikings safety Anthony Harris is set to play the 2020 NFL season with salary of $11.4 million. However, it seems his fate could have played out much differently this offseason.
According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the New York Giants had inquired about a potential trade with the Vikings for Harris:
Interesting note on Harris: The Giants and Vikings had talks about a possible trade after Harris was tagged, sources told me and these two cats below. The Vikings valued Harris and didn’t tag him just to give him away so the deal didn’t materialize.
Although Minnesota did what it could to provide themselves with some salary cap relief this offseason, they opted to place the tag on Anthony Harris back in mid-March following a 2019 campaign that saw him tie for the league lead in interceptions with six. It was not long after that rumors begun to swirl about his potential value as a trade asset leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft.
Harris now joins the long list of players that were unable to secure a long-term deal after being tagged due to the restrictions placed in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While the Vikings managed to lock up their stellar safety duo for another year, it remains to be seen if he will stick around once he hits the market as a free agent in 2021.
Meanwhile, the Giants' interest in Harris is evident of how reliant defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s scheme is on talented safeties. It appears they will no be relying on a combination of Xavier McKinney, Julian Love, and Jabrill Peppers to get the job done.
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