On the surface, the Jets’ acquisition of Percy Harvin in a trade with Seattle on Friday looks like a no-brainer, adding a big-time playmaker to a skill-position-challenged offense.
A deeper look, however, presents a potentially troubling picture, leaving you to wonder, “What have the Jets done now?’’
There has been too much smoke surrounding Harvin, whose career can be best described as enigmatic and checkered, for there not to be fire somewhere.
Reports have surfaced in both Minnesota, which drafted Harvin 22nd overall in the first round in 2009, and in Seattle about character issues that have included complaints to coaches regarding his role and conflict with teammates.
Harvin passed a Jets physical on Saturday and receiver David Nelson was cut to make room for him on the roster. Harvin was, however, listed on the Seahawks’ injury report as questionable for this week with a thigh injury. He has played in just 43 of a possible 82 career games in his five seasons.
These persisting questions about his character and injury issues present a concerning combo platter for a spiraling 1-6 Jets team that already has enough problems.
Based on Harvin’s skills, it looks as if the Jets finally got themselves a potential game breaker. A deeper look, though, shows that they also might have gotten themselves a locker-room problem.
If Harvin had a problem with the way he was being utilized by the Super Bowl-champion Seahawks, how is he going to react playing for a losing team playing out the string with little hope of a playoff berth with struggling young quarterback, Geno Smith, and a head coach possibly on the firing line after the season?
“Percy is a versatile, dynamic player who has been productive on offense and special teams,” Jets general manager John Idzik said on the team’s website. “We’re excited about adding him to the Jets.”
Harvin — who, according to a source, was acquired for the Jets’ sixth-round pick that becomes a fourth-rounder if he is on the team in 2015 — has 22 catches for 133 yards and no receiving touchdowns this season.
Interestingly, according to STATS, 12 of those 22 catches were caught behind the line of scrimmage. So Harvin, who is not known as a precise route runner, has not been stretching the field as a deep threat, which is something the Jets need from him.
Remember when the Jets thought they stole receiver Santonio Holmes from the Steelers in 2010 when they got him for only a fifth-round draft pick? Holmes was a great game breaker in 2010 before his attitude soured, his health became a problem and management couldn’t get him out of the locker room fast enough.
The sad irony of the Harvin acquisition is this: There might not be a better coach in the league at handling troubled players than Rex Ryan, but the chances are Ryan won’t even be around to coach him after this season.
More irony: If Ryan is fired after the season, one of the coaches believed to be on Idzik’s radar is Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, whom Idzik knows from his days in Seattle. If Bevell had difficulty fitting Harvin into his offense in Seattle, how is he going to make it work with the Jets if they’re here together?
And what makes anyone believe the Jets, with Smith throwing him the ball, can utilize Harvin better than the Seahawks did with Russell Wilson, one of the league’s best quarterbacks?
Bevell, addressing Harvin’s diminished role and lack of production, told reporters in Seattle this week: “Do we want Percy to get the ball in every way we possibly can? I think it’s obvious, because we’re trying to do things to get him the ball.’’
The defending Super Bowl champions couldn’t figure out a way to make Harvin work for them. Good luck to the Jets with this one.
According to a report in the Seattle Times, citing team sources, Harvin “just wasn’t a fit’’ in the Seahawks locker room and the team had grown “tired’’ of his act and decided he was no longer worth the trouble.
Sources told the paper Harvin has gotten into physical altercations with former Seahawks receiver Golden Tate before the Super Bowl last season and current receiver Doug Baldwin this season.
The “final straw’’ came last Sunday in the Seahawks’ loss to Dallas when Harvin, who played only 26 of a possible 48 snaps, refused to go back into the game in the fourth quarter, according to the report.
When he was in Minnesota, Harvin had a very public sideline confrontation with Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier during a game in Seattle on Nov. 4, 2012. Shortly after that heated argument, captured on television, Harvin was placed on injured reserve with an ankle problem and never played another game for Minnesota.
Four months later, he was traded to Seattle for first- and seventh-round draft picks in 2013 and a third-round pick in 2014, and then given a $67 million contract with $25 million guaranteed.
For all that, he played a total of eight games and caught 27 passes for the Seahawks before Friday’s trade.
This all leaves the question: What do the Jets have in Harvin?
source:http://nypost.com/2014/10/18/jets-hope-harvin-stretches-field-not-their-patience/
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