The 2014 NFL trade deadline is less than a week away but the most recent deal had some big impacts.
On Friday, Oct. 17, the Seattle Seahawks agreed to send wide receiver Percy Harvin to the New York Jets. In exchange for Harvin, the Seahawks will receive a sixth-round pick for the 2015 draft.
After the announcement, most of my friends who are Seahawks fans were complaining about the trade. Some people learned about Harvin’s move in a different way. The Seattle players, heard about the situation while they were on their they to St. Louis, Mo, for their Oct. 19 showdown against the Rams, which they lost, 28-26.
Harvin’s absence may have had an impact on Seattle at the start of the game. In a post-game interview with ESPN.com, Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin said the trade “made for a bit of an emotional roller coaster” for the team.
“As a competitor, you don’t want to admit those things,” Baldwin said in the interview. “But as a human, it is human nature. It took us a little while to get on track. I’m just proud we responded the way we did and fought until the very end.”
It is hard to see a teammate leave, but Harvin didn’t have a lot of impact on the Seahawks. He missed most of the 2013 season after he suffered a labrum tear in his hip. He only played in week 11 against the Vikings where he made one reception for 17 yards and a kickoff return for 58. Harvin experienced inflammation in his surgically repaired hip a week after the game, which put him on the sidelines for the rest of the regular season. He only played in two games in the postseason, one being Super Bowl XLVIII, Feb. 2, where he returned the opening kickoff of the second half for an 87-yard touchdown.
Harvin was going to have a bigger role on the team this season. Before being shipped to New York, he played the first five games for the Seahawks where he had 22 receptions for a total of 133 yards and 12 kickoff returns for 283.
Even if Harvin wasn’t traded, there was speculation that the Seahawks were going to release him. According to former teammate Michael Robinson, Harvin got into an altercation with teammate Golden Tate in the locker room before the Super Bowl. Baldwin also admitted that he got into an fight with Harvin. Harvin took himself out of the Oct. 12 game against the Dallas Cowboys. On his radio show on 710 ESPN Seattle, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he couldn’t make the situation with Harvin work and felt the trade was necessary to keep the team moving forward.
Despite these incidents, Harvin had the support of the team. Baldwin was in favor of keeping Harvin on the team and quarterback Russell Wilson wanted to help the receiver with his anger management issues.
I’m not a big Seahawks fan, but I think Seattle made a good choice in trading Harvin to the Jets. Even if an athlete is as talented as Harvin, is it worth it to keep him on the roster, especially if his behavior can negatively influence the squad?
Harvin’s absence also gives rookie receivers Kevin Norwood and Paul Richardson more playing time.
Richardson has only played two games this season. He played in the Sept. 21 game against the Denver Broncos where he had one reception for 7 yards. During the game against the Rams, Richardson had four receptions for 33 yards. Norwood stepped onto the field for the first time on Sunday where he had one reception for 4 yards.
These numbers might not be that impressive right now, but if these Norwood and Richardson make the most of their increased playing time, they could be instrumental in helping the Seahawks make it to the postseason.
Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.
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