Smith, who has been on the Viking's COVID-19 list since July 27, wrote a post on Instagram sharing that while he tested positive for COVID-19, doctors detected he had a heart issue.
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"I found this out after I tested positive for COVID and had to have further testing done as protocol," he wrote. "The Lord works in mysterious ways but I could really feel him on this one!"
He added that the surgery will not end his football career. He expects to return to the Vikings in 2021.
"Earlier this week, I found out I need open-heart surgery to fix a bicuspid aortic valve that I was born with," Smith wrote. "Although this will unfortunately end my 2020 season, it is really a blessing we found this as my heart is severely enlarged and wouldn't have lasted much longer. There is a surgery that will allow me to continue to play football as soon as I am healed and cleared and I didn't think twice about going with that one," Smith wrote. "By no means am I ready to be done playing football. There is still so much more I want to accomplish on the field. I'm going to attack this like everything else I have in life. Already looking forward to the comeback!"
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Smith is the first Vikings player known to test positive for COVID-19. The team has had nine players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but it doesn't disclose if a player tested positive or was quarantined after coming in contact with someone infected.
Three players, including Smith, remain on the list.