Harvin's Agent Planning a Hold-Out?

Vikings players have all reported for training camp – except first-round draft pick Percy Harvin, who remains unsigned.  If you believe Mike Florio‘s latest bit of speculation, Harvin’s absence could be a protracted one.

Florio points out that the players drafted directly before and after Harvin have both signed, meaning it should be easy to work out a number, get the contract inked and get the wide receiver in camp.  But, Florio also points out, Harvin’s agent Joel Segal may be looking to squeeze the Vikings for extra money, given that Harvin was drafted well below what his talent indicated.

“Harvin is a guy who was widely regarded as having top-ten talent,” Florio writes.  “So while a top-ten contract might not be justified, an incentive-heavy deal (like the one the Vikings gave 11 years ago to a certain top-five wideout who rolled into the twenties like a smooth stone on a greasy roof) might be justified.”

Florio then reminds us that another Segal client, Buffalo’s Aaron Maybin, has already been absent from Bills camp aka The T.O. Show for five days.  So does all this add up to a Harvin hold-out?

Gosh, I really hope not.

Of course I understand that a guy wants to get the most he can get, and that it’s an agent’s job to get him that (and his own cut of that), but there are other things to consider too.  Like, for instance, Harvin’s already well-established reputation as a headache, a reputation he shouldn’t want to exacerbate.  And consider how much the Vikings, with their Wildcat plans, are hanging on Harvin and his top-ten talent.

If anyone needs to be in camp working his butt off, and proving to everyone that he isn’t the guy everyone thinks he might be, it’s Harvin.