Harrison Smith stays in the moment with the Vikings, as his 14th season winds down

Harrison Smith's 14th year as a steadying presence and energizing force in the secondary for the Minnesota Vikings has hardly been smooth.

The undisclosed health-related matter that sidelined him during training camp was a major setback to his conditioning, putting him in catch-up mode for most of the first half of the season. The Vikings defense was more vulnerable than usual over those early games, too.

Then with the offense struggling through the developmental process with quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings stumbled through November to drop to 4-8 and precipitate their elimination from playoff contention.

But lately?

“I’ve been playing football a long time,” Smith said after Minnesota's victory over the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day, “and I have not had fun like that in my whole career.”

Smith received the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for that performance in his 206th regular-season game, after logging three passes defensed, two tackles for loss, one sack and one interception. He last won that award in 2018.

With career totals of 21½ sacks and 39 interceptions, Smith is just the second player in NFL history to hit those marks, behind Pro Football Hall of Fame member Ronde Barber, who had 28 sacks and 47 interceptions. Smith is also one of four players all time, with Barber, Brian Dawkins and Charles Woodson, to total at least 50 tackles for loss, 100 passes defensed and 200 regular-season games played. Smith (202) also trails only Jim Marshall (270) and Mick Tingelhoff (240) on the team’s all-time list for career starts.

Following the interception against the Lions, Smith was feted on the sideline in a circle of his teammates. He was the recipient of multiple ovations from the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd. Afterward, as Smith tried to sum up what that experience meant to him, his voice cracked several times before he had to pause to compose himself.

“The fans here have never experienced a Super Bowl. They always show up, and for them to keep showing up ... it just shows how much they love the team, how much they love everything that goes into it," Smith said. “We’re out of the playoffs, and everybody shows up in white. They do their part, and one of these days they’ll get it.”

The scene sure felt like a farewell. But so did Smith's emotional postgame remarks after the Vikings were ousted from the playoffs last season.

Could he envision himself returning for a 15th year?

“I can’t speak on that right now. I’m a very much in-the-moment type of guy,” Smith said.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who has forged a close relationship with the six-time Pro Bowl safety, has made no secret of his desire to keep Smith in place.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has turned over some of the play-calling and decision-making to Smith on the field before and after the snap, and an increased emphasis on blitzing in recent weeks has paid plenty of dividends.

"He has an unbelievable feel of the system. He has an unbelievable feel of what ‘Flo’ and the defensive staff really want to do, and he’s out there playing a game within the game,” O’Connell said. “It’s been spectacular to watch. It’s been awesome from my perspective to watch what he’s able to do at this point in his career mentally, and then physically he’s making a lot of plays as well.”

The uncertainty about next season for the defense stretches beyond Smith, with other expensive veterans facing the possibility of being released for cost savings with the Vikings projected to be well over the salary cap approaching the 2026 league year.

Then there's Flores, whose contract will soon expire, making him a free agent. Though his landmark discrimination lawsuit against the NFL that’s still in the court system nearly four years later continues to loom over any interviews he gets for head coach openings, there's also an opening for another club to try to lure him away with a break-the-bank offer for a lateral move.

O'Connell said this week that he doesn't anticipate such a scenario playing out and hopes to have him as long as he can before he's hired again as a head coach.

“I love Minnesota. I love this team. I love working for and with K.O.," said Flores, who was head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-21 and joined the Vikings in 2023. "This place has shown me a lot of love, and I show them right back, and so I don’t know how much more there is to it. From a football standpoint, it fits. There’s always a, let’s call it, business part of this. But the football all lines up. We’ll just see where it all goes.”

Clayton Tune will start at quarterback for Green Bay in its regular-season finale Sunday at Minnesota with the Packers intending to rest Jordan Love as he prepares for the playoffs.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Thursday that Love has cleared concussion protocol, but isn’t expected to play against the Vikings (8-8). Green Bay (9-6-1) already is locked into the NFC’s No. 7 playoff seed, so Sunday’s game has no postseason implications.

Love hasn’t played since taking a helmet-to-helmet hit in the second quarter of a 22-16 overtime loss at Chicago on Dec. 20.

Love said he's doing enough in practice that he shouldn't feel rusty when he starts the Packers' playoff opener.

“I think the only thing as a quarterback that you’re not simulating is getting hit,” Love said. “So, yeah, you go through training camp and it’s the same situation getting yourself ready for Week 1 where you’re not playing any games. It’s the same deal, but you can simulate it.”

Malik Willis played the rest of the Bears game and started the Packers’ 41-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, but he’s dealing with injuries to his shoulder and hamstring. Love practiced fully and Willis was limited in Wednesday’s practice.

The Packers also signed Desmond Ridder to their practice squad on Wednesday, giving them one more option. LaFleur said there’s a possibility Ridder could be active for Sunday’s game.

“Clayton Tune’s going to start, and then as far as the backup, we’re kind of working through that process right now,” LaFleur said. “Malik’s dealing with a hamstring. Obviously just got Desmond Ridder in here. We’re kind of taking it a day at a time.”

Tune signed with Green Bay’s practice squad before the season. The Packers signed Tune from their practice squad to their active roster Wednesday.

“Any time you get an opportunity to play in an NFL game, it’s a huge blessing,” Tune said. “So (I'm) just excited for the opportunity to go out and play and trust the training that I’ve put in for the last however many weeks it’s been.”

Tune, 26, entered the Ravens game in the fourth quarter and went 1 of 4 for 8 yards with an interception. He appeared in 13 games and made one start with the Arizona Cardinals, who selected him out of Houston in the fifth round of the 2023 draft.

He has gone 15 of 27 for 78 yards with three interceptions and no touchdowns. In his lone previous start, he was sacked seven times as the Cardinals gained just 58 total yards in 27-0 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 5, 2023.

“I would say I’m obviously more experienced, been around the game more,” Tune said in regard to how much he's grown since that start. ”Obviously seeing more looks, seeing more defenses, so I would say I’m obviously a better player just from being in the NFL for two years longer, but just I’ve seen it before and I kind of know what to expect now that I’ve got a start under my belt."

LaFleur also said newly acquired cornerback Trevon Diggs “potentially” could play against the Vikings. The Packers claimed Diggs off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.