Percy Harvin Injury: Seattle Seahawks won’t know WR’s status until Wednesday or Thursday
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin (11) is congratulated by wide receiver Doug Baldwin (89) for catching a pass against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of the 2013 NFC divisional playoff football game at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver Percy Harvin just can’t catch a break in his first season with the team, and the year 2014 has brought a new injury to mess with Harvin’s chances of playing. At first, it was offseason hip surgery that caused Harvin to miss most of the season, but the Seahawks survived without him (with unsurprising ease, of course) before playing him in a reunion match against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11. Harvin didn’t last long after aggravating his hip injury despite limited snaps, and the nagging hip injury and continuous flair ups made an initially severe injury look even worse.
The expectation was always for Harvin to return in time for the playoffs, but he was almost placed on the injured reserve after his condition didn’t get better until just a week before Saturday’s divisional round game against the New Orleans Saints. Harvin looked so good in workouts with Russell Wilson leading up to the Saints game that Pete Carroll avoided placing him on the IR and allowed him to practice. He practiced so well that he was able to practice everyday of the week and was unquestionably allowed to play in the team’s first playoff game without any limitations.
Fortunately for Harvin and the Seahawks, the hip held up fine. Unfortunately, Harvin suffered a potential injury in the first quarter. Fortunately, Harvin was able to re-enter the game. Unfortunately, Harvin was bounced out after absorbing a monster hit from Saints safety Rafael Bush in the second quarter, and Harvin was in clear pain with a concussion and was obviously taken off the field and was unable to return. Bush should be punished by the league for that egregious hit, and Harvin was the victim of a few brutal hits that need to be taken care of by the league’s offices.
Anyway, despite the concussion on Saturday caused by two big hits, Percy Harvin could still be cleared in time to face the rival San Francisco 49ers for next week’s NFC Championship game. The Seahawks can still beat the 49ers without Harvin, especially since they are at home, but the 49ers are an elite team; having a playmaker like Harvin would be a huge boost, and Harvin looked very good before going down with his second concussion.
According to 710 ESPN Seattle’s Liz Mathews, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll stated that the team won’t know whether or not Harvin will be able to play against the 49ers until Wednesday or Thursday. Harvin is in the concussion protocol, and he’ll have to pass through all the mandatory tests before playing. Just about any sort of symptom or setback could stop Harvin from playing, so it’s a precarious situation. Consider Harvin highly questionable and a likely game-time decision, but there’s still plenty of optimism that he can return and be concussion-free; keep a close eye on his status for sure.