4:30pm: The Jets have confirmed the transaction, making it official.
TUESDAY, 8:30am: The Jets will officially release Harvin today, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
FRIDAY, 2:31pm: Confirming what most observers suspected even before the Jets agreed to acquire Brandon Marshall from the Bears earlier today, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) that New York is expected to release Percy Harvin.
There’s no real urgency for the team to make the move official — as long as Harvin is no longer on the roster as of March 19, the Jets will give Seattle a sixth-round pick instead of a fourth-rounder. I expect the team to finalize Harvin’s release sooner rather than later though, to allow him to hit the open market and to free up cap room.
Harvin, 26, was acquired by the Jets from the Seahawks back in October in the most surprising in-season trade of 2014. However, the veteran receiver and return man didn’t have a huge impact in New York, totaling 29 receptions for 350 yards and a touchdown in his eight games with the Jets. Harvin also averaged just 24.8 yards per kick return, with no TDs.
With no dead money left on his contract, the Jets will clear Harvin’s entire $10.5MM base salary from their books by cutting him, which will also wipe out the remaining four years on his contract. Recent reports have suggested the Jets may have been open to retaining the former first-round pick at a reduced rate, but that Harvin isn’t interested in taking a pay cut, since he’s confident he’ll do well on the open market.
The draft pick the Jets send to the Seahawks in the deal for Harvin is contingent on whether or not he remains on the roster, so cutting him will ensure the team keeps its fourth-round pick, giving up its sixth-rounder instead. New York also appears set to part ways with its fifth-round pick in the trade with the Bears for Marshall, who will replace Harvin on the club’s wide receiver depth chart.
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