7:59am: Harvin is increasingly frustrated with his hip and knee injuries, which are expected to sideline him indefinitely, but he’s not seriously considering retirement, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As noted below, multiple reporters believe Harvin has contemplated retirement, but it doesn’t sound like he plans to call it a career anytime soon.
7:56am: Wide receiver Percy Harvin didn’t make the trip overseas with the rest of the Bills, and won’t be playing in this weekend’s game in London against the Jaguars. As head coach Rex Ryan told reporters earlier this week, Harvin stayed stateside for personal reasons, rather than due to an injury.
While Ryan didn’t expand on Harvin’s absence and go into detail, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News hears from NFL sources that the veteran wideout didn’t join the team in London because he’s contemplating retirement due to his hip issue.
Harvin has battled hip problems throughout his NFL career, particularly in Seattle, where they cost him nearly the entire 2013 season. Recent reports have indicated that the latest hip injury may cost Harvin significant time this season, so it makes sense that he’d be frustrated. According to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter links), Harvin, who has talked about retirement in the past, is “not feeling football right now.”
At age 27, Harvin should still have plenty of productive years ahead of him, but if he can’t stay healthy – or wants to get healthy – and decides to call it a career, it wouldn’t exactly be an unprecedented move. We’ve seen a handful of very good NFL players retire earlier than expected within the last year alone, including Jason Worilds (27) and Chris Borland (24).
Harvin is currently under contract with the Bills through the end of the 2015 season — while his deal technically runs through 2017, it’s set to void this offseason. According to Carucci, the Bills are “comfortable with the possibility of moving on without” Harvin if he does decide to retire during the season.
Can’t blame him for at least thinking about retiring, as his hip problems have significantly altered his career trajectory. Although always injury prone, Harvin once looked like a future star, whereas post-2013 hip ailment Harvin’s a nomadic gadget performer.
And at least a controversial personality if not a volatile one. Buffalo gambled