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Head coach Rex Ryan told reporters on Tuesday that Harvin -- acquired last Friday in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks -- will have a small role on offense in Sunday's matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
"It's hard to expect a guy to come in and learn an entire offense," Ryan said. "But we're going to use him. (If) they're expecting to play 50 plays or something like that, that's probably unrealistic."
Ryan said Harvin will return kickoffs, and perhaps punts, against the Bills. Harvin takes over kick return duties from Walter Powell, who had a 62-yard return in Week 7 against the Patriots.
For Ryan, the goal is just to find the best ways to use Harvin.
“I think when you look at how we are going to use Percy, it might be different than how he was used in Minnesota [and] how he was used in Seattle. I guess time will tell, but I truly believe with his kind of talent it’s going to be a big help, obviously for our offense and with that, our whole team,” Ryan said.
Harvin should eventually become a key piece of the Jets' offense, but getting him up to speed on Marty Mornhinweg's playbook could take some time. Perhaps the Jets had extra study time in mind when they told their new wide receiver not to speak with the media on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, it's worth noting that Harvin had been battling a thigh injury for the couple of weeks before he was traded to New York. But Harvin didn’t show up on his first injury report as a member of the Jets.
So his injury has healed completely. Interesting what a change of scenery can do.
It might also be interesting if he was asked about that injury. But it won't happen until later in the week.
Per multiple tweets from the Jets beat writers, Harvin was surrounded by reporters today, but said he was not allowed to talk until Friday. As Profootballtalk.com suggested, that will allow the week to settle into a rhythm without him talking about his new team (or more specifically, more about why he’s a former member of his old team).
Of course, the Jets PR department is smart enough to know that the same questions will await Harvin Friday, even if they come from a slightly smaller crowd.
Also of interest. ... Fellow wideout Eric Decker (hamstring) was limited Wednesday but he should be ready to go against the Bills. In addition to benefiting from a good matchup, Decker could gain from just having Harvin on board. ... Greg Salas (wrist, ankle) was also limited.
Chris Johnson (ankle) and Bilal Powell (foot) both practiced fully Wednesday.