Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin is scheduled to practice with the team next week.
Coach Pete Carroll said Harvin is getting close and passed tests this week by running and doing lateral agility drills on back-to-back days..
Harvin, who had a torn labrum repaired Aug. 1, is eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list this week. The Seahawks had a short week with Thursday’s game at Arizona against the Cardinals. NFL Network reported Harvin was expected to be on the practice field next Monday.
“He’ll be running and doing a lot of stuff this week, and we won’t expect him to play this week and we’ll find out how far along he has come,” Carroll said. “Everything is going great, and there have been really no setbacks now and he’s ahead of schedule in a number of areas, so we’re excited to see what happens.
“He ran real hard in pregame (Sunday). I don’t know if you guys caught that, but he was out there running at the stadium. It’s looking good, but I can’t tell you if that’s a month or three weeks. I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see. … He’s going to work really hard to get right.”
Even if the Seahawks see reason for promise in practice next week, it’s unlikely Harvin will be active Week 8 at St. Louis. He could be in the lineup Nov. 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Getting Harvin back would provide a large jolt to the Seahawks’ offense. Seattle has several receivers who are role players — from Doug Baldwin to Golden Tate — but no one with Harvin’s game-breaking potential.
In nine games last year, Harvin made 62 receptions for 677 yards and three touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings. Over his four-year NFL career, Harvin has 278 receptions for 3,292 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also scored five times on kickoff returns.
The Seahawks acquired Harvin from the Vikings in March in exchange for a 2013 first-round draft pick and third- and seventh-round choices next year.