Percy Harvin’s season with the Seattle Seahawks nearly ended two weeks ago.
Following Seattle’s 27-9 victory over the St. Louis Rams in the regular season finale, it was finally time for judgment day on Harvin’s injured hip.
Head coach Pete Carroll met with Harvin that Monday with a roster move to injured reserve fully on the table for Seattle’s prize acquisition of the 2013 offseason.
Harvin had appeared in just one game for Seattle in Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings. He caught one pass for 17 yards and returned his lone kickoff return opportunity 58 yards. It was a small glimpse of the player Seattle traded for back in March. But his surgically repaired hip flared up again following the game and had kept Harvin off the field for the remainder of the regular season.
But Harvin pleaded for a chance to show he was ready to get back on the field.
“Coach came to me last Monday with the whole IR thing. I just looked at him and said ‘coach, I’m ready to play ball,’” Harvin said. “We talked to the doctors, just kept rehabbing. I could hit the practice field and it felt pretty good.”
Carroll added “I had to look him in the eye two weeks ago on Monday and say ‘this is the time, this is it. We have to make the call’ and he said ‘not now, let me have a shot’, and he was ready to go. With great work from the trainers and a very successful surgery, he’s back and ready to go.
Harvin returned to practice that Thursday during Seattle’s bye week and continued to practice every day this week. He’s now ready to go with no limitations against the New Orleans Saints on Saturday.
Harvin gave credit to his teammates for keeping his spirit high while he struggled to keep grinding away at a rehab process that wasn’t showing improvement.
“Came a time where I thought about maybe just kind of shutting it down,” Harvin said. “But the guys just kept giving it to me, kept giving me that positive energy I needed and it all started turning around for me. So I decided that I was going to give it everything I have and go from there.”
Harvin said he’s “absolutely” going to be available to return kickoffs for Seattle and is expected to be available for full duty on offense.
“We’re excited about him going and excited for him. It’s been a long, long haul for a guy that’s such a great competitor and that means so much to, and for him to have the opportunity to join us now is really exciting I know for him, and for us too,” Carroll said.
Considering Harvin was just hours away from injured reserve, it’s quite a boost for a Seattle offense that sputtered at times over the last month of the season.