Brandon Marshall Trade Likely Signals End Of Percy Harvin’s Time With Jets

March 6, 2015

Now that the Jets have agreed to a trade that will send a mid-to-late round pick to the Bears in return for WR Brandon Marshall, it appears even more likely that they will be releasing Percy Harvin in the coming days.

This should come as no surprise, seeing as recent reports have said that Harvin was unlikely to be back in New York even before they brought in Marshall.

Harvin reportedly is unwilling to take a pay cut to be back with the team and believes he would do well as a free agent, which means him being released is the most likely outcome.

As Rich Cimini pointed out previously, the Jets will need to make a decision regarding whether or not to keep Harvin by March 19.

Should the Jets elect to retain Harvin, they would have to send the Seahawks their 2015 fourth-round draft pick. However, releasing him would reduce the compensation to just a sixth-round selection.

Jason Fitzgerald mentions that if the Jets were to cut Harvin, they would pick up $2.8 million in cap room, even after Marshall is factored into their cap.

With the cap savings and the fact that they can reduce compensation to a sixth-round pick, it just seems like too much to pass up for the Jets.

Jason La Canfora reported several teams reportedly “covet” Harvin on a short-term contract.
Meanwhile, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk specifically mentioned that the Chargers, Packers, and Patriots are all worth keeping an eye on in the event Harvin ends up being available.

Harvin, 26, has another four years remaining on his six-year, $67 million contract that included $25.5 million guaranteed. However, Harvin’s contract includes no guarantees in the coming years, and the Jets wouldn’t incur any salary cap ramifications by releasing him.

Instead, the Jets would free up $10.5 million by releasing Harvin outright, according to OverTheCap.com.

In 2014, Harvin has caught 51 passes for 483 yards receiving while contributing another 202 yards on 33 carries (6.1 YPC) and two total touchdowns over the course of 13 games.

Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 34 receiver out of 110 qualifying players.