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Published on 06/20/2012 at Wed Jun 20 08:56.
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Vikings’ Percy Harvin seeking to be traded

Posted Wed Jun 20th by

Harvin caught eight passes for 156 yards and two scores against the Broncos last season. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

Disgruntled Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin has requested a trade, according to reports.  Minnesota is not expected to agree and trade the fourth-year player because they are in “no position to make a deal” with a thin receiving corps.

It is unclear why Harvin is unhappy with his current situation — he suffered some migraines in 2010 and is due to make less than $3 million over the final two years of his contract, which may be contributing factors to his request.

The obvious question we ask is, should the Broncos pursue him, and will they?  When Chad Johnson became available two weeks ago, we noted Denver’s lack of need at the wide receiver position and suggested that the team would pass on him. While Denver still has a lot of talented receivers, Harvin is a younger, different player.

If Tim Tebow — Harvin’s college teammate and quarterback — was still in Denver, it would be a match made in heaven.  While Tebow is now in New York, the Broncos could still find a role for the versatile Harvin, especially with no front-runners on the roster to become Denver’s return specialist this season.

Since arriving in Minnesota, Harvin has held a role similar to the one he had at Florida, a receiver occasionally getting carries out of the backfield who handled kick return duties on special teams.  Since he was drafted in 2009, Harvin has amassed 5,821 all-purpose yards and scored 24 touchdowns while recording five tackles on the side.

Harvin can do it all and he would come at a reasonable price.  With the exception of veteran Brandon Stokley, none of the receivers on Denver’s roster have more than a few years of starting experience and as Coach John Fox likes to say, competition makes everyone better.

In an offense led by quarterback Peyton Manning, Harvin could learn under Stokley and has the potential to emulate The Slot Machine’s 2004 season when he caught 68 passes for 1,077 yards and 10 scores from the slot position.  It is no secret that Manning makes even the worst receiver on the depth chart look golden, and he could do the same with Harvin, even if he was playing behind Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and Andre Caldwell.

The most likely scenario is probably that the Vikings won’t budge and Harvin will stay in Minnesota, disgruntled.  The second most-likely scenario would be Harvin landing with the Jets — Denver making a push for him seems to be an unlikely scenario.

What’s your take?  Should the Broncos go after him?  Is he worth the occasional headaches (literally and figuratively)?  Dish out your thoughts in the comments!

  • Big_Pete

    I think that any team in the league could use Percy Harvin. No team in the league needs Chad Johnson. That’s the difference.

    Anyways, I would trade any of our WRs straight up for Harvin with the exception of Stokley. Why not Stokley? Because he is a vet who knows Manning inside and out, and will help our entire offense in the transition. That is too valuable to trade away, even though of course I’d otherwise take Harvin over Stokley. Plus, Stokley would probably rather retire than be traded out of state, which makes this scenario impossible.

    I love our WR group, but personally, I think Harvin is just a touch above Thomas and Decker; at least until they reach their true potential (if they ever do).

  • DougEngland

    I’m always wary of disgruntled players, especially in Harvin’s case where there does not seem to be any reason for him to be upset with the Vikings.
    (And I still feel that Manning is going to make stars out of both Thomas and Decker.)

  • herc_rock

    100-1 says Stokley doesn’t make this team.

  • Jim_Jebow

    I would take that bet, stoke will make the team

  • http://Twitter.com/Jon_BT Jon

    I’m not positive will make the team, but I’d take that bet, too.

  • http://Twitter.com/Jon_BT Jon

    Pete, I agree with your first statement, but I don’t know if I would trade Decker or Thomas straight up for Harvin and Stokley for Harvin would be a big time steal for Denver, he’s not tradable.

    Stokley is a great dude/player and I hope he makes the team but I’m not sure he will.

  • Big_Pete

    I don’t know Herc… I hear that he is “always open”. That’s because of his familiarity with Manning and the trust level Manning has in him. That alone will probably guarantee Stokley a roster spot.

  • Big_Pete

    I agree. I too am always skeptical about disgruntled players, but I think this is just him clearly far exceeding his contract. I mean, I’d love Manning to sign for $5 million per year, but c’mon, he’s worth way more than that. That’s kinda how Harvin sees it. He’s paid less than most #1 WRs, and almost the same as that old, overrated Chad Johnson is getting from Miami. A new deal is completely warranted. But hopefully he doesn’t sit out because of it. That’s when I lose respect for players.

    Also, yes, I also agree that Manning will make absolute studs out of Thomas and Decker. He did it with Collie, Garcon, etc, so he can do it with Thomas and Decker. I just think that Harvin is better than either of them right now. With potential being met, sure, Thomas can be better, but man, it’s hard to gamble on potential, especially with a guy who just can’t stay healthy for any length of time. I know Harvin has his migranes, but so did TD. having a migrane is a lot less damaging than a broken ankle, finger, etc… which Thomas seems to always have.

  • TD30isMVP

    He wants more money and we need to spend it on the other side of the ball. Love to have him but no thanks.

  • herc_rock

    They’ve got four absolute locks, leaving (likely) one slot for eight guys.

    I don’t see a 35 year old who’s essentially finished beating out Jason Hill…or even Orton or Goodwin or any of the other young guys.

  • DougEngland

    I hear ya… and I don’t really disagree.
    But not really knowing the details (really only what I’ve read here) why is Harvin requesting a trade and not a renegotiation of his contract?
    Also, as I said before, I am really excited to see Peyton, Thomas and Decker work together. #18 has never had receivers as big and tall as #88 and #87 are and I think he will be able to work wonders with them.
    Also that whole number coincedence is kinda of freaky… Marvin Harrison was #88 and Reggie Wayne #87.

  • http://twitter.com/TimLynch1978 Tim Lynch

    I would love to have Harvin on our team – BUT I just don’t see where Elway would pay the high price the Vikings would demand. Elway is a frugal guy when you get down to it. He’ll pay greatly for greatness at the most valuable positions….WR will never be that.

  • http://twitter.com/TimLynch1978 Tim Lynch

    I think us fans and prognosticators are massively over estimating how good DT and Decker are. If you watch DT, he was best when the play broke down and he found open holes as Tebow was running around like a headless chicken. Decker, he has stone hands and hasn’t seemed to get that much better with that problem. We all blame Tebow’s throwing, but really, how much does that matter when the ball actually hits your hands?? We’ll find out soon enough if it was indeed Tebow, but I’ve already heard about Decker dropping passes in OTA’s. It must be Manning’s fault. :P

    I think DT has the most potential, but his route running is unpolished, which means the two best WR on the roster right now might be Caldwell and Stokely. Decker’s working hard, but he needs to catch the ball when it hits his hands.

  • http://Twitter.com/Jon_BT Jon

    Nobody’s guaranteed anything, even Stokley. The players and coaches say he looks great and still has speed, but if they feel one of the younger guys has more potential Stokes will be cut.

  • TheTroglodyte

    Well said! Hopefully both Deck and DT’s hands will be vastly improved this year over last year as they were in the top 5 of the league in % of balls dropped. Not a good sign that Decker has been dropping balls in OTA’s though.

  • TheTroglodyte

    Apparently neither is DT :(

  • http://Twitter.com/Jon_BT Jon

    In training camp of their respective rookie seasons I was really discouraged at the amount of (very catchable) passes that Thomas was dropping and though Thomas was more physical, I thought Decker looked a lot better and had more reliable hands.

  • Big_Pete

    lol. So true!

  • http://www.facebook.com/Foticus Richard Bruce Schaeffer II

    NAH. He has to many migraines during the season, that keeps him from playing.

  • Doom92

    Well said Pete and I agree with you. I would say however that Harvin is more than a step above those guys and I’d love to have him as well. Remember all that he is much much more than just a pass catcher, he is a VERY versatile player and brings more “juice” to the table than any that we have.

  • http://twitter.com/TimLynch1978 Tim Lynch

    hahha BURN

  • http://twitter.com/TimLynch1978 Tim Lynch

    Sounds like he needs TD-like braces. A migraine didn’t keep TD from getting Super Bowl MVP baby!

  • AZDynamics

    The Broncos would be fools to go for Harvin for what he would cost, IMO. They have talent at WR. Do they have Harvin’s level of talent? Maybe. Maybe not. But they do have talent . . . too much to throw a high draft choice.at a WR when they still need talent at DT, MLB, and maybe safety, and maybe even a big RB.

  • http://www.facebook.com/james.allison.543 James Allison

    Harvin would be a great pickup for the Broncos if they could keep Thomas, Decker, and Stokley they would be able to have an incredible 4 WR line-up for Manning. The Broncos could include Caldwell in as part of the trade. Manning would keep Harvin in check (no crying or complaining here) and would push him to his full potential. This would be a 4 WR offense that I’d like to see; and keep in mind that you can never have enough good WR’s in the NFL with a QB like Manning. You will be seeing a lot of rotating of the WR’s with Peyton marching the team down the field in his hurry up offense and may need an extra WR or 2 just incase you have an injury or players get tired. Plus Harvin is still very young and has a great career still ahead of him if he stays healthy and out of trouble. This season is going to be fun to watch if Peyton stays healthy! I also agree with us needing to strengthen the D, but if Peyton is marching up and down the field every time he gets the ball that will only help our Defense be even better by forcing the other team into a passing offense. Plus you have Ty Warren coming back healthy; I think he will help seal up the middle and that is where I felt our Defense was most vunerable last year. If we stay healthy on the Defensive side I think we will do quite well this year. Sure I’d like to see a few more improvements on Defense, but if it comes down to it give the ammo to Peyton.