When the Vikings released Kyle Rudolph this spring after 10 seasons in Minnesota, it meant his former college teammate at Notre Dame succeeded him as the Vikings' longest-tenured player.
"People ask me how long I've been in the league, and I say, 'This is my 10th,'" safety Harrison Smith said. "It kind of catches me off guard sometimes because you're just always in the flow of trying to make plays and get better, and it just flies by. Sometimes it feels like I'm just a couple years in, and then other times I look around, and I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm a lot older than most of these guys,' so it's kind of back and forth.