New England Patriots Rumors: Percy Harvin To Join Tom Brady’s Receiver Corps After Jets Say Goodbye
Most New England Patriots rumors on Tuesday, the first day of the NFL free agent signing window, have centered on superstar cornerback Darrelle Revis, and the Patriots other cornerback Brandon Browner — but according to one report, the Patriots may now add a new wide receiver to quarterback Tom Brady’s corp.
The receiver is 26-year-old veteran Percy Harvin, who played on the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl winning team of 2013/14, but reportedly clashed with teammates and coaches in the Seattle locker room.
According to some reports, Harvin even refused to enter games when Seattle Coach Pete Carroll called upon him to play. Harvin’s sit-down strike occurred on three occasions during the 2014 season and preseason, CBS Sports reported.
Most likely as a result of the internal conflicts, Harvin was traded from the Seahawks to the New York Jets in October.
Bringing Harvin to the Jets was described enthusiastically as “a potential coup” by ex-Jets General Manager John Idzik. But Harvin didn’t accomplish much in his eight games with New York, as the team struggled to a 4-12 finish behind the erratic play of quarterback Geno Smith.
Faced with paying Harvin $10.5 million in the upcoming season, the Jets — generally believed to be the preferred destination for the highly-priced Revis if he does not stay in New England — opted to send Harvin packing on Tuesday.
Almost immediately, NFL.com correspondent Ian Rappaport reported that his sources were telling him that Harvin is likely to end up in New England, where he would join the defending Super Bowl champions and Hall of Fame quarterback Brady, as well as the team’s Hall of Fame bound coach Bill Belichick, as the Patriots attempt to secure back-to-back championships for the second time in franchise history.
Team to watch for Percy Harvin: The New England #Patriots. I’m told there is a good chance that’s his spot.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2015
New England also won consecutive Super Bowls in the 2003/04 and 2004/05 NFL seasons, finally breaking their 10 year trophy drought in the February 2 game this year against Harvin’s previous team, the Seahawks.
Harvin would be seen as a potential replacement for running back Shane Vereen, a pass-catching specialist out of the backfield. Vereen reportedly reached an agreement to sign with the Jets’ stadium-mates, the New York Giants, on Tuesday.
According to rumors circulating since the beginning of March, at least, the New England Patriots were also planning to cut ties to wide receiver Danny Amendola, whose $5.7 million salary is seen as consuming too much space to fit under the salary cap, given Amendola’s inconsistent play.
Percy Harvin would immediately fill the hole left if and when the New England Patriots hand Amendola his walking papers, which rumors say could happen as early as Tuesday.
[Image: Al Bello/Getty Images]
