Jets may try to get Percy Harvin to rework his contract
By Brian Costello
February 19, 2015 | 1:02am
INDIANAPOLIS — The clock is ticking for the Jets to make a decision on whether to keep wide receiver Percy Harvin.
The team has until March 19 to determine whether to cut him or keep him. He is set to make $10.5 million this year. If he is on the roster on March 19, the Seahawks receive the Jets’ fourth-round pick as a condition of the October trade. If Harvin is released, the Jets will send their sixth-rounder to Seattle.
“That’s a process we’re working through. We’re going to talk to his agent,” general manager Mike Maccagnan said. “We do think Percy is a very good player, but that’s a process we’re working through right now.”
Maccagnan said one option is to ask Harvin to rework his contract. It is highly unlikely Harvin would want to stay with the Jets for less money. If he is going to take less, chances are he would rather go to a contender with a proven quarterback.
“You have to look at different options you can do whether you carry him at his current contract, whether you try to restructure him for a more cap-friendly number,” Maccagnan said.
Harvin had 29 catches for 350 yards and one touchdown in eight games with the Jets last year.
In addition to the agent for Harvin, the Jets also plan on meeting with the agents for defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and linebacker David Harris. Wilkerson is entering the final year of his contract and is seeking a long-term deal. Harris is set to be a free agent on March 10. Both sound like priorities for Maccagnan.
“I don’t want to put a timetable on that. I think that’s something that’s on our list of things to do,” Maccagnan said of a Wilkerson deal. “I would say since Todd [Bowles, coach] and I got on board, we haven’t really worked with Muhammad previously. It’s something we’re going to go through the process of evaluating and kind of see how it goes going forward. I would definitely say Muhammad is a player we like. We’ll see how this process unfolds.”
As for Harris?
“We think David Harris is a very good football player,” Maccagnan said. “I think he’s had an excellent career with the Jets. I think we would very much like to keep David in the mix. It’s free agency so we still have to have a meeting between us and the agent and the player on where that value is, but I would say David is a player we would very much like to get back in the mix.”
Former Jets coach Rex Ryan loved to talk about chasing the Patriots. Bowles had an interesting answer when asked about the rivalry with New England.
“I don’t think it means anything to us right now,” Bowles said. “Right now, we’re trying to become the New York Jets, and we’re trying to become a winning ballclub. We’re going to concentrate on us. You can’t beat the Patriots in February. Just beating the Patriots is not going to cut it if you lose to everybody else. We’ve got to have a growth process of how to win while we’re winning and trying to win and beat more than just the Patriots.”
Maccagnan said the Jets are projecting CB Dee Milliner to be back on the field in the late spring or early summer. Milliner tore his left Achilles tendon in October. …. The Jets are going to bolster the cornerback position, something they failed to do last year. “You can never have enough good ones,” Maccagnan said. “I’d be very happy if we had a surplus at that position.”
