Earlier this week the Minnesota Vikings agreed to a contract extension with safety Harrison Smith. The deal will be for five years and is worth $51.25 million or $10.25 million a year. $28.578 million of that is guaranteed. It will run through 2021. He will now be the highest-paid safety in the NFL.
Smith is one of the best safeties in the league. He has a total of 321 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 12 interceptions in his four years. He has proven to the Minnesota Vikings that he is important to the defense. Smith rarely misses a tackle in the open field. This is a lot of money to pay him but Smith is setting the market value for a member of the Denver Broncos, safety Darian Stewart.
Darian Stewart is in the last year of his deal. He plays a large role in the Broncos’ defense. He is the starting safety and this will be his second year in Denver. Last season, Stewart had 63 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 1 interception, helping Denver win Super Bowl 50. When he was on the field, Denver would often play man-to-man defense because the Broncos could count on him to make the tackle in the open field to prevent a big play. When he wasn’t out there, Denver was forced to play zone. Many times when they were in a zone defense, they would get burned by the big pass play.
Stewart will make $2.5 million this year, the final year of his contract. The Broncos would love for him to stay around, but the problem is his market value. If Smith is receiving $10.25 million a year, Stewart might want the same treatment. The Broncos may not have that kind of money left over. They need to sign Von Miller which hopefully gets done soon. Emmanuel Sanders will be a free agent next year. The Broncos will have to pay him for him to stay.
Stewart is a decent safety but not worth the kind of money Smith is making. This is a contract year for Stewart to make a big deal. He could take a hometown discount to stay with Denver, but this is possibly his last year with the Broncos. The Broncos can hopefully find a player who plays like him through free agency or the draft. The Broncos will have a big decision on what to do with Stewart at the end of the year.
What should the Denver Broncos do with Darian Stewart?
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