Seahawks' Harvin may return for playoffs
RENTON, Wash. -- Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin may be back for the playoffs.
Harvin, who underwent hip surgery over the offseason, returned to play one game against his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, on Nov. 17, but the hip did not respond well and he has not played since.
Last week, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll indicated Harvin could be placed on season-ending injured reserve this week. However, he said on Monday that he expects Harvin to practice with the team on Thursday as it begins preparation for its Jan. 11 playoff opener.
The Seahawks, who don't play again until Jan. 11 as the No. 1 seed in the NFC, have Tuesday and Wednesday off.
"Percy's going to practice with us when we get back with the intention of playing in this next game," Carroll said. "We'll see what happens. That's the intention. We're going to see how he goes."
A healthy Harvin would give the Seahawks a big-play weapon in their offense and on kick returns.
"We're going to take things slowly. It would be wrong to change things for one individual player," Carroll said.
The Seahawks sent first-, third- and seventh-round picks to Minnesota to acquire Harvin, who has one reception for 17 yards and one kickoff return for 58 yards this season.
With the Seahawks' receiving corps struggling to gain separation and with defenses increasingly loading up to stop running back Marshawn Lynch, Seattle could receive a big boost with Harvin's speed threat in the lineup.
Carroll said it is "way more" than Harvin learning to deal with discomfort, pointing out that he is trying to return in a matter of months from a procedure that takes many years to fully recover from.
"He's not just trying to get back to being a normal human being walking down the street," Carroll said. "He goes a millions miles an hour and throws his body everywhere, and he has to be perfectly fit to do that.
"He's learned as he's gone along to try and figure this thing out and it's taken us some time because it's a very delicate situation. I couldn't be more pleased with how he's gone about it to try and figure it out to work his way through it and deal with the setbacks and all of that.
"It'll be a story to (the media), but we might as well get it out this week, he's going to try and get back and we'll find out what happens. Right now I didn't even mention day to day, week to week, he's going to practice on Thursday and we'll see what happens from there."
