Before the 2013 season begins, the Minnesota Vikings may be faced with making a difficult decision about whether to sign Percy Harvin to a lucrative contract extension or trade him while he still has value. According to Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports, there is a belief around the league that Harvin is not happy with his current situation with the Vikings — which is something many have speculated despite denials from Harvin.
Harvin is set to become a free agent after next season, but he reportedly wants a contract extension now. To make matters more complicated, it is believed that he wants a deal closer to the eight-year, $132 million one that the Detroit Lions signed Calvin Johnson to last year. He wants more money than the five years, $56 million Dwayne Bowe got from the Kansas City Chiefs.
Harvin considers himself to be a very special player, and he is not alone in that thinking. He also happens to have reputation for being a difficult player to deal with, as he reportedly wanted to be traded last offseason and got into a shouting match with head coach Leslie Frazier toward the end of the 2012 season. His disciplinary issues even date back to college, where he supposedly grabbed his Florida receivers coach by the neck during a disagreement.
According to Cole, Harvin also threatened to walk out on the Vikings last season after he heard that former teammate Aaron Hernandez had received a five-year extension from the New England Patriots.
We have heard of players becoming upset when their teammates get extensions before them, but Harvin must really feel he is undervalued to be threatening his team over what other organizations are doing.
Unless the Vikings are willing to throw a ton of money at Harvin to keep him happy, it’s probably safe to say his days in Minnesota are numbered. Mike Wallace is set to hit free agency, and he is a player that the Vikings could go after if they feel they need to trade Harvin and bring in another playmaker. At this point, it sounds like that might be best for all parties.
H/T ESPN 1500 Twin Cities
Photo credit: Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE
