The Percy Harvin Debacle

by Justin Rasile

The Percy Harvin trade has sent shockwaves throughout the NFL and has caught many people off guard.  According to multiple reports, Seattle had been shopping their electric receiver for a couple weeks now and was hoping to make a deal happen before the trade deadline passed.  Seattle signed Harvin to a 6 year $67 million dollar deal after they acquired him from the Vikings in which they gave up a first, a third, and a seventh round draft pick for him.  So why did all this happen?  Ever since Harvin showed up in Seattle, he had been an issue in the locker room and a cancer to his team.  On a team where camaraderie has been one of the biggest reasons for the success for these young Seahawks, you cannot have a player that splits the locker room.  Harvin was a first round pick, 22^nd overall, and has failed to live up to expectations.  The most alarming stats for Harvin in his tenure with the Hawks is his production when he is on and off the field with Russell Wilson.  When Harvin is on the field, Wilson’s total QBR is 45 with a touchdown/interception ratio of 5-2.  With Percy being off the field, Wilson’s QBR skyrockets up to 71 with a touchdown/interception ratio of 7-0 despite having 55 less snaps to work with.  Those numbers indicate to me that when Harvin is on the field, Russell is forcing throws to him to try and get him to make some type of explosive plays but in doing so he is not playing that mistake free, smart football we are so used to seeing from the young Super Bowl Champion.  These numbers are extremely eye opening and one that General Manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll have paid attention to.  The combination of his migraines, injuries, and poor work ethic and attitude has completely impeded his growth as a potential number one receiver on a team.  Now that he has been thrown off another team, maybe he will finally wake up and work hard to be the best player that he could be.  I honestly believe this trade will work out for both teams.  The Seahawks found a way to trade a player that was hurting their locker room but also managed to clear up a lot of cap space in order to retain the core of their team and sign Russell Wilson to the deal that he deserves.  They receive a conditional mid round pick so they could get anywhere between a second and a fourth depending on how well Harvin does.  Seattle has also routinely been one of the best drafting teams and have found plenty of late round steals that weren’t even high picks, a la Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson.  Now Seattle has no excuses to not perform up to the standard they have set in place for them.  As for the Jets, this trade gives Geno Smith an offensive weapon he so desperately needs, considering the only receiver really worth a damn is Eric Decker, and sometimes Jeremy Kerley shows up.  It will not be that overly difficult to get Harvin caught up and playing early because all Geno and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg really have to do is find a way to get the ball into Harvin’s hands.  Throwing those bubble swings and quick screens and occasionally lining him up in the backfield and handing him off the ball are all examples of ways to give this playmaker a chance to make something happen.  The Jets are basically out of the playoffs already with a terrible record of 1-6 but this trade will at least help show the Jets front office and coaching staff if they should continue going forward with Geno Smith as quarterback.  Only time will tell if this trade will pan off for both teams but if Seattle receives a second round pick for him that means the trade was great for both teams.