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Jets expected to release Percy Harvin

By Stanford Crissey

Oct 26, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Percy Harvin (16) runs across the field prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Percy Harvin (16) runs across the field prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jets will release wide receiver Percy Harvin, who they acquired in an October trade and making him a free agent.

Well, that was quick.

The New York Jets thought they had scored a coup when they acquired wide receiver Percy Harvin from Seattle in an October trade. In Harvin, they envisioned finally having an explosive weapon as part of their offense. The trade wasn’t made for 2014, as the Jets were 1-7 at the time; the team clearly envisioned Harvin being a key part of their offense for years to come.

That dream is dead, apparently. According to an ESPN tweet, the Jets will be pulling the plug on Harvin after just four months:

The news doesn’t come as much surprise; the Jets acquired Bears receiver Brandon Marshall earlier today, and it was inevitable that the other shoe would drop at some point. The team simply wasn’t going to keep Marshall, Harvin, and Eric Decker.

What is surprising is how quickly things reversed for the team and Harvin. John Idzik thought he was acquiring an offensive weapon, and it’s hard to blame him; when was the last time the Jets had an offensive weapon? Curtis Martin maybe? It’s been a long time.

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But since then, Idzik has been fired, and new GM Mike Maccagnan doesn’t appear to be as big a believer in Harvin, who is often an explosive playmaker, but spends just as much time injured or in the doghouse.

Harvin’s Jets tenure perfectly illustrates the fickle nature of his productivity. In two of his games with the Jets, he combined for 17 catches for 253 yards and a touchdown; in his other six games with the team, he managed just 10 catches for 97 yards and zero touchdowns–a stretch that includes a two-yard game, a six-yard game, and a zero-yard game.

Harvin’s release will free up $10.5 million in cap room for the Jets (none of his salary was guaranteed). New York wasn’t exactly starved for cap room before (with $50 million open they have one of the best cap situations in the league), but they clearly think that the money can be spent better elsewhere. We can expect them to be major players in the free agent market this year as they try to improve from a nightmare season.

As for Harvin, he’ll be left to join his fourth team. He has 332 career catches but has never made it through a full 16-game season, and reports that he was a bad teammate followed him on his way out the door in Seattle. His value has seen a steep decline since Minnesota traded him for a first-round pick in 2013; that being said, he’ll be one of the better wideouts on the market, and he’ll likely be a good fit for a team starved for productivity at the position. He’ll be hard-pressed to make that $10.5 million with another team; he could be an ideal candidate for a one-year deal to restore his value.

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