Percy Harvin Likely Out Sunday vs. Packers; Tensions Rise in Minnesota
By Josh Hill
The Minnesota Vikings are playing for their playoff lives on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, but it seems they’ll be without embattled all purpose man Percy Harvin once again. The Vikings listed Harvin as doubtful on their Friday injury report ahead of a big game against Green Bay on Sunday, as he is still recovering from an ankle injury.
Not only will Harvin likely not play, it’s still up in their air of he will even travel with the team.
Minnesota’s offense has struggled all season long and it has specifically struggled with Harvin out of the lineup. It seems no one in the Vikings offense can catch a pass from the aged Micheal Jenkins to the free agent dud Jerome Simpson. If you asked the average NFL fan to name a receiver on the Vikings roster besides Harvin, they’ll likely ask if Jared Allen has switched positions.
Right now the Vikings are 6-6 and are on the cusp of falling gravely behind in the NFC Playoff chase and a loss to the Packers will likely cripple those chances. The bigger issue at hand is Harvin’s happiness with the team, as the last time we saw him, he was almost physically fighting head coach Leslie Frazier.
It’s been noted in the local Minnesota media that Harvin is less than pleased with Christian Ponder.
“I just want to score points,” Harvin said of the outburst which came after the Vikings were forced to settle for a field goal on a crucial scoring drive against the Seahawks. “It’s frustrating not scoring.”
The Minnesota media might be reading into it, but there have been incidents of Harvin displaying displeasure at the way the offense is being run, and there’s a good possibility he could hold out next year as he contract expires after 2013. This puts the Vikings are in a bind, as while Harvin has had an outstanding season, the last time the VIkings had a good receiver who wanted a pay day, they let Sidney Rice walk.
So as the season winds down, the tensions between the Vikings and Harvin are only on the rise.