San Francisco and Seattle, already among the top two teams in the NFC, made trades for dynamic offensive talent Monday that bolstered their already-potent offenses.
The Seahawks made life a little easier for sensational rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, by acquiring the Minnesota Vikings top receiver, Percy Harvin, for Seattle’s 2013 first-round draft pick. Not long after that blockbuster acquisition, the Niners countered by trading a sixth-round draft pick to the champion Baltimore Ravens for big-time tight end Anquan Boldin.
Harvin’s deal is contingent upon him agreeing to a new contract, which should be finalized in the next two days. He was expected to fly to Seattle Monday night and will undergo his physical examination in next 24 hours, a source said.
The Ravens asked Boldin, who is scheduled to make $6 million, to take pay cut. He carries a $7.531 million salary-cap figure. Boldin told USA Today on Saturday that he was unwilling to slash his salary to stay with the team, citing “principles.”
“At no point, no matter how well I played, would I come back to the table and say, ‘I need more money.’ The contract that I signed was the contract that I intended to play out,” he told USA Today.
Neither trade can be officially completed until Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, when the 2013 league year officially begins.
Seattle offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, held the same position with Minnesota when the Vikings drafted Harvin in 2009. Harvin also will be reunited with receiver Sidney Rice, formerly of the Vikings.
At the scouting combine, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman insisted Harvin would not be traded and called him a “dynamic playmaker,” adding that said he would not even take phone calls about a trade.
Boldin, who is in Africa, needs to pass a physical before the trade with San Francisco becomes complete. Ravens receiver Torrey Smith was not happy about losing Boldin, posting on his Twitter account: “This business is BS at times.”
