Percy Harvin Pulled Himself from Multiple Games, According to Jay Glazer

Percy Harvin reports continue to trickle out of Seattle. After the receiver was traded to the Jets on Friday, we heard that he was a “time bomb” who that had physical altercations with Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate. Now, according to Fox’s Jay Glazer, Harvin pulled himself from multiple games, including losses to San Diego and Dallas.

It’s obvious that Seattle jettisoned Harvin because they didn’t think his talent was worth his trouble, but it’s also clear that the team is advancing its agenda through multiple media fronts. There have been conflicting reports about how Russell Wilson played into all this. CBS’ Jason La Canfora wrote that the receiver and quarterback weren’t “clicking,” and Mike Florio suggested that there was concern that Harvin would “launch a mutiny” against Wilson.

One takeaway from these reports would be that Wilson tacitly signed off on the trade, but now word’s coming out that this decision was made against his will by management:

It’s hard to know exactly what all went down behind the scenes, or what teams across the league tolerate on a regular basis from diva stars. Nobody in the Seahawks organization felt strongly enough about Harvin’s distractions until they dumped him, but they need a way to justify shipping off a receiver for whom they parted with a first round pick and gobs of money.

Wilson wouldn’t want to be seen as responsible for Harvin’s ouster because that could blow back on him if he struggles going forward as he did in those Chargers and Cowboys losses. It’s easy to picture (dumb) pundits being like, “If he’s such a great LEADER, he could’ve gotten someone as talented as Harvin on his side. The Super Bowl went to his head. He’s HOLLYWOOD now. Maybe he should spend less time making insurance commercials and more time with his team.”

Nevertheless, it’s a sign of a strong organization that the Seahawks were willing to cut their losses and admit a mistake. It’ll be fascinating to see how the team responds today against the Rams, and going forward.