With the Colts needing a receiver due to the injury to Anthony Gonzalez and signing a guy in Hank Baskett who has generated fewer receiving yards in his entire career than Marvin Harrison racked up in eight different NFL seasons, the obvious question arises.
Why in the heck isn’t Harrison on a team?
Former Colts coach Tony Dungy, who made his debut five days ago on NBC’s Football Night In America (7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT/those of you in the other time zones can do the math), had this to say on Sunday night about the man who spent seven years playing for Dungy: “Marvin does want to play, he can play, but Marvin does want to get paid.”
Those last six words are the key. Though the details are still sketchy, Marvin likely passed on a final offer from the Colts worth far more than anything any other team might have suggested as a possible contract during his seven months of free agency. And now that the Colts have taken a steep cap hit for cutting Harrison, it will be difficult for them to put back on the table the deal Marvin rejected in February.
At this point, the question will be whether a contender has needs at the position during the stretch run, and whether Marvin will take what he can get for a chance at getting another Super Bowl ring.