Reaction: Why would the Seahawks dump Percy Harvin?

Update: Seahawks GM John Schneider has confirmed the trade. Read his statement here.

The Seahawks trade of receiver Percy Harvin is sending shock waves through the NFL, especially here in Seattle.

“It would be the most surprising thing in the ten years that I’ve been covering the team,” says 710 ESPN Seattle Seahawks insider Danny O’Neil.

Harvin is widely considered one of the most dynamic players in the league and a costly pickup for the Seahawks when they traded three draft picks to acquire him from Minnesota in 2013. They also signed him to a new six year, $64.25 million contract including a $12 million signing bonus, $14,500,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of over $10 million.

So why would you trade what was considered such an important piece? Harvin came to Seattle with a history of being difficult in the locker room. Sources say that continued here. And he regularly skipped practice with a variety of ailments, even when he was healthy, which wasn’t often. He missed all but one game of last season before returning for the Super Bowl.

“Percy Harvin is a handful to manage and I think that most people around the league have known that it’s why Minnesota would be willing to trade him,” O’Neil says. “The only thing that this adds up to is they decided he was not worth the headache of managing him.”

ESPN football insider Adam Schefter tells 710 ESPN there had been rumblings of problems with Harvin in the locker room for weeks, and he’s far from surprised.

“Percy Harvin is a dynamic player, we keep saying that. That’s not in question. But there are other questions the Vikings knew about, the Seahawks knew about. I even had somebody with the Jets text me ‘Seattle is willing to deal him now in the position they are? I smell a rat.'”

ESPN football analyst John Clayton says he heard many of the same things about Harvin being unhappy in the locker room and spreading dissent, and that the Seahawks were quietly talking about moving him after the season ended.

“I think that what’s ended up happening is they started talking trade now and they were able to find a team, like the Jets, that were able to give them some value. So instead of trying to make it better, they just let it go.”

The final straw seems to have come this week, when Harvin again missed two practices after a poor showing in last Sunday’s loss to Dallas.

“Pete [Carroll] has shown a willingness and ability to move on from guys,” O’Neil says. “That sends a message in terms of what we are going to allow – that we don’t have different rules for superstars.”

Here are some of the interesting reactions and insight from around the league:

So now two teams have unloaded Harvin in his physical prime. That is telling.

— Mike Sando, ESPN.com (@SandoESPN) October 17, 2014

Harvin was more difficult to deal with last year than anybody knows. He has real trust issues with people. No getting it back once lost.

— Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) October 17, 2014

RT @SportsTaxMan: During Seahawks reg-season career Percy Harvin had 23 catches, made $18.3M (@spotrac) — that's $795,652 per reception.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 17, 2014

Seahawks team source: “Percy didn't want to be here. We accommodated him.”

— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) October 17, 2014

History of confrontations w/ teammates contd in SEA according to my guy including punching G Tate during SB week & near fight w/ #3 in ‘14

— Lance Zierlein (@LanceZierlein) October 17, 2014

This business is crazy… Hate to see my boy @Percy_Harvin go

— Cliff Avril (@cliffavril) October 17, 2014