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Percy Harvin says 'itch came back' to play football again

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Former NFL wide receiver Percy Harvin told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he wants to return to football.

Harvin, who has not played since the 2016 season and battled numerous injuries throughout his career, told Anderson that he is "ready to return to the NFL."

"I thought I was done, but that itch came back," Harvin told Anderson on Tuesday.

Harvin, who turns 32 next month, retired for a second time in March 2017 after playing in two games the previous season with the Buffalo Bills. His agent told ESPN at the time that Harvin was "done" playing.

He underwent hip surgery in August in Gainesville, Florida. Doctors found a blockage he said may have been there since high school. It may have been a turning point for Harvin, who over the summer had to lay on the floor to get comfortable and couldn't get up and down stairs without using the handrail.

Harvin told Anderson on Tuesday that he has been training with a former Olympian, weighs 185 pounds and is ready to join "any offense that'll just let me go."

"My body is feeling good," Harvin told Anderson. "Mentally I'm better. My family is good. The timing is right."

Harvin's playing time was limited in 2016 because of migraine headaches, an issue he dealt with throughout his career. But he said he never officially filed for retirement.

"I knew I wasn't functioning right, not only physically, just all around the board," he told Anderson. "I had to get in contact with myself."

Now Harvin waits for a call while continuing to work out during the coronavirus pandemic.

"The need for guys that can catch the ball and create after the catch is always at a premium in the NFL," said Harvin's agent, Alvin Keels. "I would be shocked if he isn't invited into someone's camp. Wouldn't you?

"It's going to be important that he conveys to the league that he's 100% all-in mentally," Keels added. "I think the nagging injuries got to him in Buffalo and he checked out. He was dealing with some stuff mentally that sent him into a depression. I think the time off was actually good for him. I think he needed it and he's ready."

A first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2009, Harvin was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. In 2013, the Vikings traded him to the Seattle Seahawks, whom he helped win Super Bowl XLVIII against the Denver Broncos with an 87-yard kickoff-return touchdown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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