The Vikings said farewell to several long-term members of their defense this offseason and they’ll be filling those slots without the usual amount of time to work together in the offseason, but that’s not causing safety Harrison Smith much concern about what the future will hold.
Smith met with reporters from Vikings camp on Friday and said that he “didn’t know we were supposed to be bad” as a result of the departures of players like Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Andrew Sendejo, Stephen Weatherly and Mackensie Alexander.
“It’s good to have that mix. It’s good to have some new faces,” Smith said, via Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Smith will still be playing alongside Anthony Harris at safety and the Vikings have Danielle Hunter, Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks back as key parts of the front seven. They’ll have to make do without defensive tackle Michael Pierce after he opted out of playing this season, but there’s still a core of experienced players that should make the transition a bit easier in Minnesota.