Hartman: Harvin Wants Out Of Minnesota
Adam Warwas
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Sid Hartman, the oldest member of the Vikings Cheerleading Team, is at it again.
For a guy that normally uses this time of year to boost the morale of fanbase, Hartman has decided to pass along a disheartening piece of information about the Percy Harvin saga, just in time for Sunday morning’s paper.
Hartman says that he has gotten word from “some good sources” in the NFL that the troubled receiver has told the Vikings that he no longer wants to play for them and would like to be traded. Additionally, Hartman says there is no way that Harvin would be reporting for duty when the Vikings begin offseason workouts on April 22nd, which is not a surprise to anyone that is paying attention.
I have noticed over the years that Hartman seems more than willing to be a pawn in the Vikings public relations efforts, and I can’t help but wonder where Hartman got this information and what motives the “sources” had for leaking it, and I find it interesting that Hartman goes out of his way to point out the leverage the Vikings still have in this situation and give credence to Rick Spielman’s assertions that the team will not be trading Harvin.
One must keep in mind that Spielman and his staff are currently fighting a war on two fronts. They have to balance between maintaining leverage with Harvin, in case negotiations do eventually take place, and also maintain a good game face to maximize their selling price if it comes down to a trade scenario. Hartman seems to do a good job of helping Spielman out on both fronts with this latest report.
This could all be over as soon as Tuesday. It may also last right up until Draft Day in April, or even longer. In theory, this thing could play out over the course of the next couple of years, but that is sounding less and less likely with every report that comes out.
Short of an actual trade, the Vikings signing one of the top free agent receivers available this offseason would be the surest sign of all that the Vikings are ready to move on and will work hard towards shipping Harvin out of town. Ironically enough, it could be Harvin’s contract demands that prevent a deal from taking place quickly.