Percy Harvin is getting a clean slate in his first year with the Buffalo Bills. At the same time, he’s trying to debunk the stories that say he was the problem during a tumultuous stint with the Seattle Seahawks.
In an interview with the Buffalo News, Harvin said his Seattle teammates, specifically wide receivers Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate, were threatened by him stealing some of the spotlight after the Vikings traded Harvin to Seattle in 2013.
“It was a constant thing,” said Harvin, referring to Baldwin and Tate as insecure players. “It was something that got under my skin. I felt like they were acting like kids.”
The result was Harvin giving Tate a black eye and a getting into a separate fight with Baldwin, Sports Illustrated notes. Because he was involved in both fights, it’s easy to assume that Harvin was the problem; but he’s adamant that isn’t the truth.
“Everybody calls him, ‘Tough Doug’ or ‘Angry Doug,’” said Harvin, explaining how Baldwin harassed him before the fight ensued. “That was one of the times, he tried to use me to show he was a tough guy. I tried to walk away and he came back. It got messy. And I think what happened was the best for me.”
It didn’t take long for the Seahawks to trade Harvin to the Jets, who released him before he reconnected with Rex Ryan in Buffalo on a one-year, $6 million deal.
“I mean I honestly didn’t know he (Harvin) felt that way,” Baldwin recently said, according to the Seattle Times. “I thought we had squashed it before he had left. I’ve got no hard feelings toward him and and I wish him the best in Buffalo.’’
Harvin, now entering his seventh season in the NFL, is hoping to put his past aside and let his talent do the talking.
“I want this to be the year,” Harvin said, “I look and say, ‘Year Seven was the turning point. That’s when I put it all together.’”
Staying healthy would be a good start for Harvin. He missed Buffalo’s first preseason game with a sore hip, according to ESPN.
