Pending FA Anthony Harris Switches to Vikings-Friendly Agent/Agency…

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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

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