Much has been made of the Minnesota Vikings and Percy Harvin drama. Recently reports surfaced saying the Vikings plan on shopping the multi-talented wide receiver. While early statements out of winter park are mixed there does seem to be some smoke leading up to this story. Last week, Frazier said the team had no concrete plans for Harvin next season. Also central to the trade talk is GM Rick Spielman’s references to Harvin being hard to handle because of his outspoken nature.
One of the teams rumored to be thinking about kicking the tires on Harvin are the Patriot’s. Head coach Bill Belichick had a close relationship with former Gator’s head coach Urban Meyer. Meyer coached Harvin while at Florida and has always been a big Percy supporter. Given the connection the Patriots are a nature fit. The Pat’s could be looking to upgrade a WR core that could stand to lose Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd this off-season. New England also has a history of taking players who were perceived as problems with their current teams and turning them into team players under the Patriots system.
There are of course other teams around the league who might be willing to shell out the money Percy will be asking for. The Miami Dolphins will be looking this off-season to put some play makers around their young franchise QB Ryan Tannehill. Also in the mix could be a struggling Jacksonville franchise who lacks big star power. A star player like Harvin who attended college in Florida could be just the name the Jag’s need to sell to their fan base.
My gut feeling is the Vikings will smooth things over with Percy and will try to work out a long term extension that will make Percy happy, however with that said it wouldn’t be a shock if they traded him. Spielman and Frazier have been very focused on having team first guys on the Vikings. With all the drama surrounding Percy Harvin since training camp this might be the right time to deal him and move forward.
