Percy Harvin spent most of his first season with the Seattle Seahawks meeting with doctors and rehabbing a hip injury that required surgery in August. He appeared in just one regular season game and two postseason games for Seattle in his first year in Seahawks blue.
But Harvin feels those issues are firmly behind him. Harvin was on the practice field and participating full speed for the team’s first OTA of the offseason on Tuesday. Harvin says it’s the best he’s felt in a long time.
“This is probably the best I’ve ever felt since before college,” Harvin said.
Harvin appeared in just one regular season game in November against the Minnesota Vikings before a setback forced him back to the sidelines for the remainder of the regular season.
Harvin was nearly shut down for the year before he finally turned a corner in his rehab at the end of the regular season. His biggest contribution came on the biggest stage as he totaled 137 all-purpose yards and returned the opening kickoff of the second half of the Super Bowl for an 87-yard touchdown to dash any hopes of a Denver Broncos rally.
Harvin said he was itching to get back out on the field just weeks after the season ended. He’ll be an important piece for Seattle’ offense this fall and the team looks to replace the efforts of departed receiver Golden Tate, who signed with the Detroit Lions in free agency. Tate led the team with 64 catches for 898 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Harvin has missed 22 of 32 regular season games over the last two years due to injury. He missed seven games with Minnesota in 2012 due to an ankle injury before missing 15 last year for Seattle with the hip problem. Harvin hopes his days of sitting on the sidelines are now firmly in the past.
“I’m just happy to be out here, I’m happy to be healthy right now,” Harvin said. “We’re all tuned into what we have to get done this next coming year so we’re all just out here working. It feels tremendously good to get back on the field and be as one.”