After last month’s day or two of confusion regarding the precise identity of the organism that had climbed inside one of Percy Harvin’s orifices and died, Harvin is indeed happy with the Vikings -- and he’s present and accounted for now that camp has opened.
According to Judd Zulgad of 1500ESPN.com, Harvin quietly slipped into camp Thursday, one of the last players to arrive before the 4:00 p.m. CT reporting deadline.
Harvin didn’t speak to reporters, but coach Leslie Frazier explained that he ran into Harvin at the barber shop on Wednesday.
“We talked some more there, just by coincidence, and it was great to see him,” Frazier said, via Zulgad. “We’ve had good conversations. Obviously, we want him to do well. He’s a key part of what we want to get done here in Mankato and into the season, but all is good.”
If Harvin can achieve his goal, all will be a lot better than good.
“He wants to bring a championship to Minnesota and when that’s the case, we can all work towards the same common goal,” Frazier said. “All of us working towards bringing a championship to Minnesota and that’s where he is and that tells me that he has a chance to be the type of leader he can be.”
As Harvin enters his fourth season, Frazier plans to rely on his versatile wideout, heavily.
“His teammates respect him so much,” Frazier said. “So does our coaching staff. He’s a guy who has been there and we were able to count on a season ago when we had, as you guys know, a ton of injuries and really a tough situation. He was one of the guys we could count on throughout the year and if he can continue to be that person that his teammates can trust and can count on and do the things he has done for us in the past, I won’t see any problems with Percy because we know that he loves the game. He has a passion for the game.”
He’ll have more of a passion for the game if the Vikings use him more. That was one of the criticisms last year, and it may have been one of the reasons why Harvin was, at least for a day or two, unhappy last month.