The Jets released wide receiver Percy Harvin at the start of free agency on Tuesday. The move doesn't result in any dead money on New York's cap, as none of the remaining $41.5 million on Harvin's contract was guaranteed.
The Jets sent a conditional draft pick to the Seahawks last season in exchange for Harvin's services, and that pick will now be a sixth-rounder rather than a fourth-rounder as a result of him not being on New York's roster for 2015. The Jets also sent a fifth-round pick to the Bears for Brandon Marshall last week, so it basically works out to a fifth and sixth for Marshall, since Harvin was only on the team for nine games.
Prior to Harvin's official release and after signing linebacker David Harris to an extension, the Jets had about $35.8 million in cap space. Removing Harvin's $10.5 million cap hit from the books bumps that number up over $45 million, and they're already set to spend some of that on former Seahawks guard James Carpenter. The Jets had some really bad guard play last season, so Carpenter is an instant upgrade, even if he struggled a bit in the run game last season.
Obviously there has been a ton of speculation that the Jets will chase after former Jet, Buccaneer and Patriot Darrelle Revis. The New York Post and the Daily News are practically salivating at the prospect already. The Jets have needs all over the field, obviously, but securing Revis' services would go a long way toward letting Todd Bowles do the kinds of things he likes to do defensively, bringing pressure from various places while letting his corners work on an island (pun very much intended, yes).
As for Harvin, there will surely be a market for his services, but there's no telling how deep or lucrative that market will be. Two teams that immediately come to mind as making a ton of sense: the Patriots and the Eagles.
New England has had a bunch of success turning smaller wide receivers into valuable contributors. Julian Edelman is the latest in a long line that includes Wes Welker, Troy Brown and more. Harvin is also versatile enough to fill multiple roles within the offense, and you just know Bill Belichick (who was "always liked" Harvin, apparently) and Josh McDaniels would figure out how to put him in the best position to succeed.
Philly has been clearing out space to remake the roster in Chip Kelly's image, and right now it looks like second-year man Jordan Matthews would be their top receiver going into next season. Kelly obviously likes Matthews and former Oregon Duck Josh Huff, but Harvin almost makes too much sense as a weapon for him to play around with. He can run the bubble screens, jet sweeps, zone-reads and all the other stuff Kelly likes to do. It would be like having another Darren Spoles, but with an additional downfield component to his game. Harvin's not a big receiver that Kelly usually prefers, but the entirety of his skill set seems like a perfect system match.
The Browns and Raiders also have a ton of cap space and a need at receiver, and you never know who else (Bears? Bengals? Titans?) might enter the market once Harvin actually lands on the waiver wire. With the draft once again deep at receiver, though, the contract he receives may not be comparable to his last one.
