In a surprising move last offseason, the Vikings gave the franchise tag to Anthony Harris.
From a performance standpoint, the move was reasonable. Harris was coming off a career year where he had six interceptions in the regular season, one in the postseason and a PFF grade of 90.5.
Even before his career year in 2019, Harris was stellar in limited reps before getting a starting safety role. However, Harris did not replicate his past success in 2020.
He tallied no interceptions, seven passes defended and a PFF grade of 66.2. Going off of basic stats, PFF or the eye test, Harris had a down year.
Now, Harris is set to become a free agent and Minnesota has another contract-related decision to make with its safety. Despite an off year, he could be looking at a valuable deal, due to his body of work.
Spotrac.com has Harris’ market value as $15.5 million, which is up from his value in February of last offseason. Not only does that seem like a pricey contract for most teams, the Vikings are strapped for cash in 2021.
