Anthony Harris News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/anthony-harris/ Minnesota sports, but different Wed, 15 Jul 2020 19:42:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Anthony Harris News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/anthony-harris/ 32 32 With Deadline Upon Us, Anthony Harris Expected to Play 2020 Under Franchise Tag https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/with-deadline-upon-us-anthony-harris-expected-to-play-2020-under-franchise-tag/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/with-deadline-upon-us-anthony-harris-expected-to-play-2020-under-franchise-tag/#respond Wed, 15 Jul 2020 19:42:10 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=27152

It looks as though the Minnesota Vikings and star-safety, Anthony Harris, will not be able to reach a long-term contract agreement, before the deadline to do so at 3PM CT, today (according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, among others). Anthony Harris has already signed his franchise tender so that’s what he will play under, if a last-second deal can’t be consummated.

July 15

At 4:00 p.m., New York time, deadline for any club that designated a Franchise Player to sign such player to a multiyear contract or extension. After this date, the player may sign only a oneyear contract with his prior club for the 2020 season, and such contract cannot be extended until after the club’s last regular season game.

NFL Operations

Negotiating to the last moment

Harris’ franchise tag is worth one-year, $11.44 million. Yet, both sides still seem intent on, at the least, continuing discussion until the last moment. With both sides appearing so willing, you have to question how far apart the team and Harris are on money and length.

If they do not reach an agreement, Harris will again be a free agent, come 2021. The Minnesota Vikings have already tried to move him in the past. That conversation would certainly continue into the season, if he plays under the tag.

As we discussed, when Harris signed his tag earlier this year, the Vikings may not be interested in keeping Harris beyond a couple of years. Especially when considering he’s only really had one stellar year, out of the five he’s played.

However, with a very young secondary beyond their two veteran safeties, Harris could be very important in Zimmer’s (who still doesn’t have a job beyond 2020) eyes. If both Harris and Smith play to the same level as they did in 2019, expect the Vikings’ secondary to be beyond scary — no matter how inexperienced the CB’s are.

Jack Kewitsch | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/with-deadline-upon-us-anthony-harris-expected-to-play-2020-under-franchise-tag/feed/ 0 Wed, 15 Jul 2020 14:42:14 +0000 Minnesota Vikings It’s Official: Madden (EA) Hates the Minnesota Vikings https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-twins/its-official-madden-ea-hates-the-minnesota-vikings/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-twins/its-official-madden-ea-hates-the-minnesota-vikings/#respond Tue, 14 Jul 2020 18:35:24 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=27095

Did Electronic Arts (EA) fire all of their competent Madden scouts? A website, MaddenSchool.com, leaked what they claim is a list of the top-10 rated players for each NFL team, in the upcoming Madden 21. If true, EA’s hate for the Minnesota Vikings is clear and obvious. Maybe these “leaked” ratings are false and the game will drop on August 25, revealing us all as idiots… but that’s not what Forbes (the major magazine publication) believes.

Forbes claims, “it is highly unlikely any of the ratings below are false”, after speaking directly with a representative of MaddenSchool.com, the popular non-EA-affiliated Madden website, that posted the leaked ratings.

So if we assume them right, as Forbes does, then EA should fire everyone who scouted Minnesota Vikings players. I’m still struggling to believe these ratings, they’re so astonishing. “Flabbergasted” might be a better descriptor. Adam and I talked about the bias Madden rankings on today’s episode of the Bleeding Purple Podcast (QB rankings: 9-minute mark | Vikings top-10: 14:30).

PlayerRating
Harrison Smith95
Dalvin Cook91
Michael Pierce91
Adam Thielen90
Eric Kendricks89
Danielle Hunter89
Kyle Rudolph84
Anthony Harris83
Kirk Cousins82
Anthony Barr82
Leaked Madden Ratings – MaddenSchool.com

Defense

Let’s start on Zimmer’s favorite side of the virtual football. If Zimmer knew Madden still made video games, he’d be really pissed off about these ratings. The list above would sit on his virtual bulletin board (if he had one) for the entire season… or forever, unless one of his grandkids deletes it for him.

The top of the list makes sense. Harrison Smith is one of the best safeties in the NFL. He has been for a handful of seasons. He was the easy one… but, as you travel further down the list, you can’t help but wonder if these “scouts” have watched a Minnesota Vikings football game since 2018.

Do you guys know who Michael Pierce is? If you have a bad short term memory, you might not. He’s the new defensive tackle, who will try to help fill the void of Linval Joseph. Clearly, the Madden scouts in Baltimore were big fans of his.

Hopefully they are right and I’ll take the love because the rest of the ratings in the top-10 should be thrown right into the garbage. How is Danielle Hunter not in the 90’s? Even if you’ve NEVER watched him play… this photo alone has to be good for a 95 all by itself, especially after seeing TJ Watt is an 86 rating.

Eric Kendricks gets screwed too but that’s nothing new. That guy has been underrappreciated since coming out of the womb. The biggest traveshamockery of this entire game though, is Anthony Harris. How is Anthony Harris an 83? The Vikings franchise-tagged Harris because he is a top-3 safety. That’s the rating that makes me question everything about this leak.

Anyway, moving onto the offense

I’m fine with Dalvin Cook’s rating, though I’d bring it up a couple more points. Adam Thielen is a top wide receiver but he’s white so no shocker…

WTF is Kyle Rudolph doing on this list? I like Kyle and what he’s done as a Viking… but how is he in this top-10 list? He’s going to lose his job to Irv Smith Jr. by the end of this season.

Kirk Cousins is an 82 and Drew Brees is a 93. Think about that. Drew Brees couldn’t throw past 30 yards last year in the playoffs and Kirk Cousins beat him (on a beautiful pass to Adam Thielen)… but Brees ranks top-4 at the Madden QB position, while Kirk isn’t even in the top-10.

If it were up to the national media, Minnesota would be wiped completely off the map. Oh well, the Vikings are better when they are underappreciated anyway. Hopefully, someone can explain what this means to Zim, so he can use it to his advantage.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-twins/its-official-madden-ea-hates-the-minnesota-vikings/feed/ 0 Tue, 14 Jul 2020 13:35:27 +0000 Minnesota Twins Anthony Harris Signs Franchise Tag with Vikings but Goal is Reportedly Still Long-Term https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/anthony-harris-signs-franchise-tag-with-vikings-but-goal-is-reportedly-still-long-term/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/anthony-harris-signs-franchise-tag-with-vikings-but-goal-is-reportedly-still-long-term/#comments Sun, 17 May 2020 19:09:51 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=24065

Safety, Anthony Harris has officially signed a contract to remain in a Vikings jersey for his sixth consecutive NFL season. He is now set to make $11.44 million on a one-year franchise-tag deal. This isn’t a surprise and might not even be the contract Harris plays under.

Anthony mentions it a bit in his post but multiple reporters have also confirmed that he and the Vikings continue their efforts to work out a long-term agreement for 2020 and beyond, even with the franchise tag now signed.

I don’t know that the Vikings have a huge incentive to sign Harris long-term, at this point in time. If they were forced to cut the roster down tomorrow, they’d still have about $10 million to play with entering the season.

With free agency now beyond stale and the draft in the rear-view mirror… I’m not sure why they would want to bind themselves to Harris‘ future unless they find specific use for the extra money. All of that is before you even get into the unknown that still looms for football in 2020.

Plus, I’d think an extension for Harrison Smith would be higher on their priority list if the Vikings were going to use their VERY talented safeties to free up cash… Zimmer himself has mentioned the unlikelihood of spending big long-term money on two safeties.

If you were going to splurge on two players at that position though… you’d do it on Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris who both rank in the top-3 for starting safeties in the NFL, according to PFF.

I’m just happy to have something semi-breaking to write about again…

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/anthony-harris-signs-franchise-tag-with-vikings-but-goal-is-reportedly-still-long-term/feed/ 1 Sun, 17 May 2020 14:09:55 +0000 Minnesota Vikings Vikings Place Franchise Tag on Anthony Harris… https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/vikings-place-franchise-tag-on-anthony-harris/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/vikings-place-franchise-tag-on-anthony-harris/#respond Mon, 16 Mar 2020 16:10:39 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=22769

So Kirk Cousins already got an extension today, that essentially locks him in with the Vikings through 2022 (no matter what outs the contract says the Vikings have), and it also broke, that CJ Ham will be around awhile longer.

Neither of these moves, as the league started wheeling and dealing today, shocked anyone. Sure, Kirk’s extension was far from certain, but the Vikings had been in talks with him, for awhile.

Franchise tagging Anthony Harris, however…. was a shock. Harris was first rumored to be gone for sure, after a draft combine press conference from Mike Zimmer seemed to be shoving him out the door. Awhile later, it was reported the Vikings were trying to find a way to hold onto him… but franchise tagging Harris, was never really a part of the conversation.

To add to the intrigue of this move, Ian Rapoport (who broke this news) is now saying, that the Vikings could be using this tag to find a trade partner for Harris. He called it a “tag and trade”…

Who said social distancing would be boring?

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/vikings-place-franchise-tag-on-anthony-harris/feed/ 0 Mon, 16 Mar 2020 12:51:30 +0000 Minnesota Vikings Pending FA Anthony Harris Switches to Vikings-Friendly Agent/Agency… https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/pending-fa-anthony-harris-switches-to-vikings-friendly-agent-agency/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/pending-fa-anthony-harris-switches-to-vikings-friendly-agent-agency/#respond Mon, 17 Feb 2020 22:04:14 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=21825

In some rather interesting news regarding Vikings’ Safety Anthony Harris, who is a pending free agent and might be the team’s biggest re-sign target this offseason; the 28-year-old, and 4-year NFL veteran has switched representation.

According to Darren Wolfson of KSTP and SKOR North, he will now be represented by a company called, “Athletes First“. This is a well-known company within the NFL, representing the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Ramsey, Nick Foles, Deshaun Watson and many many others (via athletesfirst.net).

Athletes First represents a lot of big names but it’s the names of other Minnesota Vikings, that I found interesting when I read Doogie’s tweet for the first time.

Trae Waynes and (likely) Everson Griffen are due new contracts with the Vikings, or change in scenery. However, the other two names have both had very good history with our favorite pro football team.

Harrison Smith is currently sitting in the middle of a Rob Brzynski classic, that netted him a $15 million signing bonus in year 1 and could finish with $56M total. Starting with $7.3M against the cap in year 1 and hitting it’s peak this season (year 5) at $10.75M, Rob was able to spread the signing bonus out in a way that made Smith’s contract easy to swallow from tip to base.

via GIPHY

Then, Kyle Rudolph actually signed an extension last offseason when many said it was impossible (including me). He has one more season of grace period on that contract before he becomes a cut target once again.

One name I found when looking at Athlete First’s website, that might be more interesting than any of those named by Doogie in his tweet, is Anthony Barr.

We all remember what happened with Barr last offseason, when he agreed to terms with the Jets, before changing his mind and coming back to the Vikings.

It’s possible that all of this means nothing… but it is interesting, given the timing. Wolfson, who is more plugged in than anyone, seems to find it that way too.

If anything, it’s positive. Athletes First seems to be a company that is able to get players resigned with teams even in the most awkward of circumstances, if that’s what their client wants.

We are going to need all of the help we can get, in getting guys like Harris back on the roster. It’s no secret that the Vikings are ~$12M in the red and have a lot of guys like Harris (especially on defense) that they want to re-up with.

We’ve seen a lot of imagination out of the Twins and Timberwolves’ brass over the last month… could the Vikings be next? Something needs to give. These money problems aren’t just going away…

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/pending-fa-anthony-harris-switches-to-vikings-friendly-agent-agency/feed/ 0 Mon, 17 Feb 2020 17:43:51 +0000 Minnesota Vikings Vikings Show Atlanta/NFL They Are Not to be F**ked With in 2019 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/vikings-show-atlanta-nfl-they-are-not-to-be-with-in-2019/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/vikings-show-atlanta-nfl-they-are-not-to-be-with-in-2019/#respond Sun, 08 Sep 2019 20:11:33 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=18241 There’s just nothing like a Vikings game… I love the Gophers and all of the teams we cover but there’s just no feeling like the moments leading up to Vikings kickoff, especially at US Bank Stadium. You just don’t get those butterflies very often, especially in your adult life. The Vikings on Sunday is the epitome of what makes sports great.

In years past though, especially in the first game of the year, we’ve seen those butterflies quickly turn to feelings of queasiness. It’s almost always a mixed bag with this team… but not this Sunday… not in 2019.

Whatever worries you had about Kirk Cousins, the offensive line, or Dalvin Cook’s health (at least for one game) went out the window. And the Vikings onslaught, on both offense and defense, started from the opening snap…

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And just like that, the Vikings were leading 14-0 entering the 2nd quarter. When I say “leading”, I mean to say DOMINATING. 14-0 didn’t even do it justice. Kirk Cousins added another score before half, and we went into halftime with a 21-point lead. That still wasn’t enough for the ass-kicking we were laying down in week 1. The purple looked like they were healthy in week 10 and Atlanta still thought they were playing preseason games.

The Vikings didn’t put any more points up until the end of the 3rd quarter. Anthony Harris, between points 21 and 28 however, put TWO interceptions on the board. He was a thing of beauty and it is quite clear now, why the we weren’t out shopping for safety help this offseason. Oh, and then Dalvin Cook and this revamped O-line put those 7 points, I was talking about before, on the board.

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You could not have scripted a Vikings Week 1 that went any better than today did. Anthony Barr splashed early and showed he is going to be worth every penny. Everson Griffen looks like he is back to his regular-QB-eating-self, causing all sorts of trouble in the backfield and posting his first sack of 2019 in Week 1, after racking up just 5 all of last season. The defense held one of the best NFL offenses (probably) to 12 fucking points (all of which were obsolete and scored in garbage time). 

Meanwhile on offense, the offensive line looked better than advertised, especially in the run game, where it was the Dalvin Cook show (21 CAR | 111 YDS | 2 TD) but Mattison had plenty of room in his limited action, as well.

Kirk Cousins had time for the most part, but even when he didn’t, he stayed strong in the pocket and kept his eyes downfield; something he struggled mightily with by the end of last season. Then again, the Vikings were so dominant in the run game that HE ONLY HAD TO PASS 10 TIMES (I put this in caps so you knew it wasn’t a typo)… We also didn’t need to use a FG kicker, making that whole topic obsolete (to all of our relief).

It’s going to be a great week and hopefully an even better season.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/vikings-show-atlanta-nfl-they-are-not-to-be-with-in-2019/feed/ 0 Mon, 30 Dec 2019 20:24:28 +0000 Minnesota Vikings