Harvin's Trade Request Not a Surprise After Vikings' Offseason Moves

According to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin has requested a trade from the team. 

While it's an extreme long shot that Harvin's request will be granted, it should hardly come as a surprise when you look at some of the moves the Vikings have made this offseason, moves that highlight the dangers of trying to build your team via free agency. 

First, the Vikings went out and signed a tight end who missed all of 2011 with a shoulder injury in Jon Carlson to a five-year deal with $9.1 million in guaranteed money. 

Then, looking to bolster their somewhat nondescript (outside of Harvin) receiving corps, the team signed Jerome Simpson to a one-year, $2 million deal. 

Meanwhile, the team's most dynamic receiving threat, with two years left on his rookie deal, is set to make $915,000 in 2012. 

This is the danger of free agency and why teams like the Steelers and Packers stay away from the silly money that gets thrown around in the early days of free agency. The money that gets spent on shiny new toys is almost always better served going toward rewarding players who are already in your locker room. 

Now, obviously the Harvin situation is not about any one thing and this has been brewing for quite some time. As Tom Pelissero of ESPN Twin Cities wrote back in April, there are concerns about handing Harvin big money for a multitude of reasons, from his past drug transgressions to his manipulative off-field behavior. There's also the question of how the Vikings tend to use Harvin on offense and how much he is actually able to be on the field due to his constant migraine issues. 

Yes, there are a myriad of things at work here, but there's no doubt that the Vikings handing out money to a mediocre (and that's being kind) wide receiver in Simpson and a guy who didn't even play last year in Carlson didn't do anything to help the situation.