Wide receiver Percy Harvin of the New York Jets is...

Wide receiver Percy Harvin of the New York Jets is tackled by linebacker James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers during a game at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 9, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Getty Images / Al Bello

Percy Harvin knows you're waiting for another issue to arise.

He's been called a selfish malcontent and a locker-room cancer, but labels are of no concern to him. If people want to question his character, so be it.

"I'm fine with that. Because I know the real me," Harvin said after the Jets' final bye-week practice. "The people who know me, [who are] real close to me, know what time it is. I've gotten texts from all my old teammates. So I can live with that."

His reputation precedes him wherever he goes -- that of a troubled wide receiver who despite all of his God-given ability can't make nice with his teammates long enough to find a permanent home in the NFL.

Sure, Harvin could share the details of his year and a half in Seattle, but he'd rather let others talk about him. Even if, as he says, their versions are exaggerated.

"I just really don't worry about what people say. I just kind of go about my business," he said during a quiet moment at his locker. "There's always two sides to a story. I don't like giving my version just 'cause I don't even want to get into it.

"I just know, personally for me, I never want to get into who-said-what or anything like that. And then I feel like when you do give your side, it's almost like making an excuse. But me, I kind of -- not saying there wasn't a situation, but definitely not to the point of anything that's written."

Weren't there several situations?

"Yeah," he acknowledged.

Nineteen months after giving the Vikings three draft picks for Harvin, the Seahawks dealt him to the Jets for virtually nothing. A conditional draft pick was all Seattle needed to cut ties with the former first-round pick.

Immediately after the trade was announced, more reports of Harvin's bad-boy behavior surfaced: body-slamming Seahawks teammate Golden Tate the week before the Super Bowl and getting into an altercation with fellow receiver Doug Baldwin in the preseason. There also were reports of Harvin, 26, refusing to re-enter the Seahawks' Week 6 game against the Cowboys in the fourth quarter.

At the time of his mid-October trade to the Jets, general manager John Idzik -- a former Seahawks executive -- labeled the move "a potential coup" for the franchise. However, some members of the organization saw it as a desperation tactic that was too-little-too-late to save a struggling team.

The Jets (2-8) have lost two of the three games they've played with Harvin, but his new teammates continue to rave about his versatility.

In those three games, he had 17 catches for 174 yards (including a 42-yard reception) and 11 carries for 69 yards.

Harvin also has made an impact in the return game. During his breakout game against the Chiefs, which included 11 catches for 129 yards, he was tripped by Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos on a kickoff return. Had it not been for the penalty, Harvin would have made it into the end zone. He settled for a 65-yard return that set up a field goal.

"Just having Percy is part of the reason we're having so much success right now," quarterback Michael Vick said Tuesday after the Jets' impressive 20-13 win over the Steelers. "He's done a great job for us and he works extremely hard.

"The things that have been put out about him, that's been said, we don't see it here."

Perhaps that's because Harvin says he's finally "at peace.''

"I'm enjoying playing football right now. I'm enjoying coming into work every day with my teammates," he told reporters on Tuesday. "That's what you want. You just want to be able to come in, you love your teammates and you go from there."

He's also "loving" his various roles in the offense, "rather than me being in the exact same spot every time,'' he said.

While the Jets hope to make something out of their disappointing season, the Seahawks appear to be playoff contenders. Harvin, however, said he doesn't mind seeing his former team chase another Super Bowl without him.

"It's still all love," he said. "If those guys go on and win the Super Bowl, I tip my hat off to them. No ill will here."

Some may say Harvin's upbeat demeanor is all a facade, but the Jets, at least publicly, see someone who truly has found a home.

"He is at peace,'' Rex Ryan said. "I can tell you this, we are at peace that he is here."

While he played for Seattle, Harvin was referred to as "too moody" and "a time bomb" by unnamed sources in a Seattle Times story. But the Jets have only seen Harvin the hard worker.

Said Ryan: "I think for whatever reason, I don't know, he just feels great here. And we are happy he is here. Really, a nice young man.''

Harvin said his family is at ease because they can hear the "calm'' in his voice. That's because he finally feels he can focus solely on football and "not have to worry about all the outside stuff.''

Somehow, a Super Bowl champion has found serenity on a team with two wins in 10 games, no franchise quarterback and a general manager who has been the target of a fan-commissioned flyover and billboards.

"I believe everything happens for a reason,'' Harvin told the cameras. "You never know what the reason is. But since the trade happened, I've been calm the whole time. The transition has been very smooth. So I'm hoping it stays that way.''

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