Percy Harvin is retiring from NFL after seven injury-filled seasons

Percy Harvin, whose tantalizing talent was paired with a prickly temperament and an inability to stay on the field, has decided to retire, multiple media outlets reported Thursday. Just 27, the wide receiver was limited by hip and knee injuries with the Buffalo Bills last season.

Hip ailments were an ongoing problem for Harvin, who was drafted 22nd overall in 2009 by the Minnesota Vikings out of Florida. He was named the AP NFL offensive rookie of the year and went to his only Pro Bowl after racking up 925 yards and six touchdowns from scrimmage, while adding a career-high 1,156 yards on kick returns, with two more touchdowns.

However, Harvin struggled with migraines that season, and he would subsequently miss time with shoulder, ankle and rib injuries. In all, the Virginia Beach-area native played in just 73 of a possible 112 regular season games over seven seasons spent with four teams, including the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets.

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Seattle gave up first-, third- and seventh-round picks in 2013 to get Harvin from Minnesota, where he had clashed with head coaches Brad Childress and Leslie Frazier. However, Harvin was rarely able to make the impact on the field his explosive ability promised, and he was reported to have gotten into physical altercations with fellow wide receivers Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate.

In 2014, Harvin was traded midseason to the Jets, but the team let him go after that season following another trade for a wide receiver, one that brought Brandon Marshall to New York. Harvin followed ex-Jets head coach Rex Reed to Buffalo, but after accumulating 19 receptions for 218 yards and a score over the first four games of the 2015 season, he was knocked out of the fifth game with an aggravation of a hip injury and never returned to the field.

Harvin’s best season came in 2011, when he posted 1,312 yards from scrimmage (967 receiving, 345 rushing) and eight touchdowns for the Vikings. His career highlight could well be the second-half kickoff he returned for a score as his Seahawks trounced the Denver Broncos, 43-8, in Super Bowl XLVIII.

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