The New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders haven't really had much in common over the past decade or so.
One franchise has become a perennial contender, annually vying for the league title thanks to their genius head coach and stone-faced quarterback.
The other hasn't reached the playoffs in 12 NFL seasons.
Still, there seems to be at least one thing the two sides share - an interest in free agent-to-be, Percy Harvin.
Harvin is reportedly set to be released in the wake of the New York Jets' trade for Brandon Marshall Friday - he was slated to make $10.5 million next season - and very well may be heavily pursued by both the Raiders and the Patriots.
For the Pats, head coach Bill Belichick has always seemed to carry a certain fondness for Harvin, who possesses the rare ability to operate both out of the backfield and out wide.
Belichick was said to be enamored with Harvin going all the way back to the 2009 NFL Draft when the Minnesota Vikings selected him one spot ahead of New England.
"Six years later, Belichick's fascination with Harvin is well documented. Harvin's skill set is ideally suited to the short passing game that Tom Brady has mastered, as evidenced by the fourth-quarter dissection of the NFL's best defense in Super Bowl XLIX," writes Chris Wesseling of NFL.com.
Harvin is a notoriously mercurial talent, but if Belichick can't get the most out of him, there may only be one other person in the NFL that can - new Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave.
"The most impressive game film of Harvin's career is from the first two months of the 2012 season, after Bill Musgrave had replaced Darrell Bevell as offensive coordinator," writes Wesseling. "Musgrave knew exactly how to maximize Harvin's unique talent, lining him up more often in the backfield and taking advantage of his running skills with multitudinous bubble screens and crossing routes."
Harvin could be a cheaper alternative to Randall Cobb, a player the Raiders are reportedly placing a large emphasis on signing once the NFL free agency period opens next week.
