Harrison Smith, Vikings Agree to New Contract: Latest Details and Reaction

Harrison Smith was originally set to hit free agency at the conclusion of the 2016 season, but the Minnesota Vikings made sure that wouldn't happen. The Vikings announced Monday they agreed to a contract extension with Smith.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, citing a source, provided Smith's contract details Monday, and the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson provided additional insight Wednesday:

It was never a question whether the Vikings would re-sign Smith to a long-term extension; the only variable was when the contract would be signed. Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune reported in December that Smith wasn't going anywhere:

The Vikings selected Smith 29th overall in the 2012 draft, and he has since appeared in 53 games for the team, making 320 combined tackles and intercepting 12 passes. Smith is coming off his best season in the NFL, earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Pro Football Focus also graded him the best safety (92.8) in the league and named him to the PFF All-Pro team for the second year in a row.

"Smith may have missed some time, but even so, he still earned the highest mark of any safety on the year. He was that good," wrote PFF's Khaled Elsayed. "A safety who can make plays wherever you line him up, he's someone quarterbacks [need] to account for on every snap (even if free safety doesn't really account for his versatility)."

In terms of performance, Smith more than earned a lucrative extension. His injury history was the only hang-up regarding the timing of the deal. He battled a knee problem last year, and turf toe sidelined him for eight games in 2013.

Neither injury was too serious, and they don't appear to signal some sort of chronic issue. Still, waiting until a year from now to sign him to a new deal wouldn't have been a terrible idea.

Even taking that into consideration, though, re-signing Smith is a great move by the Vikings. He's arguably the most versatile free safety in the league. His combination of skill and instinct is nearly unparalleled among his peers at the position.

Smith's pick-six of Eli Manning in the Vikings' 49-17 Week 16 win over the New York Giants in 2015, via NFL Network, is a great example of what he brings to the table. Seemingly before Manning even releases the ball, Smith gets into position to make a play, and everything is easy after that:

"He's a kid with great vision. He sees things, understands routes," said Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, per Vensel. "We try to teach him to eliminate routes—what routes can affect him, what routes can’t affect him. Then obviously, he's got to be able to read the quarterback and break and take the right angles and catch the ball."

For the first time since Daunte Culpepper was in his prime, the Vikings look to be headed in the right direction while also building around a sustainable core of young players. Minnesota made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 2008 and 2009 but relied on aging quarterbacks—Brett Favre and Gus Frerotte—to get there. Last year's division title with young Pro Bowl signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater under center should only be the start of what's to come.

It's still too early to talk up the Vikings as a Super Bowl contender. They could earn that distinction in another year or two, and locking up Smith for the long term further enables that to potentially happen.