Font ResizeOn the eve of NFL free agency, trades involving top receivers Anquan Boldin and Percy Harvin grabbed the headlines.
In an odd twist Monday, Boldin went from the Ravens to the San Francisco 49ers, the team he helped Baltimore beat 34-31 in last month’s Super Bowl.
Harvin, who expressed his discontent in Minnesota, was sent to Seattle, where he will join former Vikings teammate Sidney Rice.
San Francisco acquired the 32-year-old Boldin for a sixth-round draft pick. Boldin, a star in Baltimore’s run to the Super Bowl title last season, must pass a physical to complete the deal.
Boldin had six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl victory. He had said he’d consider retirement rather than leave Baltimore. But going to the NFC champions might change his mind.
The 24-year-old Harvin, Minnesota’s moody and multi-talented receiver, will join the Seahawks for a package of draft picks that includes Seattle’s first-round selection next month, No. 25 overall. He also must pass a physical.
Minnesota will also get Seattle’s seventh-round pick this year and third-round selection in 2014.
League MVP Adrian Peterson was not thrilled over the news.
"The best all around player I ever seen or you’ll ever see! Goes to Seattle! I feel like I just got kicked in the stomach. Several times!!!" Peterson posted on Twitter.
Harvin was producing at an All-Pro level
Harvin, who also has suffered from migraines, will enter the fifth and final season of his rookie deal with a $2.9 million salary that’s well under market value -- unless the Seahawks rework it.
Also Monday:
--The Giants are allowing Victor Cruz to enter restricted free agency, placing a first-round tender on the wide receiver.
Team owner John Mara said the Giants will risk having Cruz agree to a contract with another club. New York has the right to match any offer. If the Giants allow him to leave, they will get a first-round draft choice as compensation.
--Cornerback DeAngelo Hall was cut by the Redskins, a casualty of the team’s NFL-imposed salary cap penalty. Washington is over the cap because of an $18 million sanction for the way it structured contracts during the 2010 uncapped season.
--The Broncos released nine-year veteran linebacker D.J. Williams, freeing up his $6 million salary in 2013 for other needs. Williams missed nine games while serving a pair of NFL-mandated suspensions last season and was deemed expendable after Wesley Woodyard had a breakout season at weakside linebacker.
-- The Jets signed quarterback David Garrard to back up -- and provide a challenge to -- starter Mark Sanchez. Garrard has not played in the NFL since 2010. He started 76 games in nine seasons with Jacksonville and played in the 2009 Pro Bowl.
--The Cardinals released running back Beanie Wells after four injury-plagued seasons. A first-round pick in 2009, Wells showed flashes of the brilliance he had at Ohio State, but has only played one full season -- his rookie year.
