As the Vikings embark on their 2013 offseason a week later than expected but four weeks sooner than hoped, they’ll need to figure out whether receiver Percy Harvin will be part of the team next season.
Coach Leslie Frazier believes Harvin will be back.
“I don’t see any reason why Percy wouldn’t be back with us,” Frazier said, via Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “He should be.”
We’d expect Frazier to say nothing else. Declaring an intention to trade Harvin isn’t the best way to build a trade market; any team that is trying to get him needs to believe that Harvin staying put remains a viable option.
The best piece of objective evidence regarding the team’s plans will come from whether they try to extend Harvin’s deal. He entered the 2012 season thinking that it would be a contract year, and he was considered by some to be an MVP candidate before injuring his ankle in Seattle.
With one season remaining on his rookie deal, Harvin’s short-term future in Minnesota will secured only by a long-term extension.