The New York Giants reportedly had trades talks with the Minnesota Vikings regarding safety Anthony Harris this spring. Harris, whose contract ended last season, was assigned the franchise tag in March and didn’t sign the tender until mid-May.
Interesting note on Harris: The #Giants and #Vikings had talks about a possible trade after Harris was tagged, sources told me and these two cats below. The Vikings valued Harris and didn’t tag him just to give him away so the deal didn’t materialize. https://t.co/5gPyRBjIiw
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 15, 2020
Harris, 28, an undrafted free agent out of Virginia in 2015, could not come to an agreement on a long term contract with the Vikings and will now play this season at the one-year, $11.441 million franchise tag price.
The Vikings were likely hoping to either bring Harris back at a lower price via a long-term deal that would drastically cut his cap number or simply tag him and trade him, but that doesn’t appear likely now, either.
Why the Giants are showing interest in Harris is unknown. They have Jabrill Peppers and Julian Love in the fold already and just drafted Alabama standout Xavier McKinney in the second round of the NFL Draft. With needs at other positions, this seemed like a overpay on their part, but let’s not forget, general manager Dave Gettleman is capable of trading draft picks away for impending free agents (see: Leonard Williams).
Harris played in only four games as rookie but has missed just three games over the past four seasons. In 2019, he recorded 60 tackles and grabbed six interceptions, one of which he ran back for a touchdown.