/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/7968829/151653742.0.jpg)
It's not often that one of the NFL's most explosive play-makers finds his way to the trade market. That's exactly what is happening with Percy Harvin, a player that the Minnesota Vikings are reportedly trying to trade this spring.
On the field, Harvin is an elite player. In four professional seasons, he has five kick return touchdowns and - more importantly - has emerged as a versatile and highly productive receiver, catching 280 passes for 3,302 yards and another 20 touchdowns. A player to whom C.J. Spiller was compared coming out of Clemson, Harvin is the type of explosive receiver that every team would love to have.
What teams don't love, however, is off-field problems - and those have plagued Harvin throughout his career. He tested positive for marijuana at the 2009 NFL Combine, causing him to slide to the latter part of the first round in that April's selection meeting. More to the point, he's also reportedly had verbal altercations with his two Vikings head coaches, including one this past season with Leslie Frazier that caused him to leave the team, and served as the launching point for Minnesota's trade interest.
Add in persistent injury concerns - he's consistently missed practices with migraine headaches in the past, and has also had shoulder, hip, hamstring and (most recently) ankle issues in his four-year career - and you begin to see the amount of risk taken on in a player like Harvin, who could still fetch at least a second-round pick for Minnesota on the trade market. There's one other major consideration, as well: 2013 is the final year of Harvin's rookie contract, meaning if you're trading for him as more than a very expensive one-year rental, you'll need to dole out a fat new contract, as well.
Once again, we're discussing the risk/reward of this type of move - would a trade for the soon-to-be 25-year-old Harvin interest you, Bills fans?