Former NFL receiver Percy Harvin is eyeing a return to the NFL after a three-year absence that stemmed from the second retirement of his career in 2017 due to nagging injuries. In a conversation with ESPN’s Josina Anderson, Harvin claimed that he’s “ready to return to the NFL.”

“I thought I was done, but that itch came back,” Harvin told Anderson on Tuesday. Harvin’s first retirement was in April 2016 but he returned in November 2016 on a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills. In March 2017, however, he retired again following the team’s decision to place him on the non-football illness list due to complications with migraine headaches.

Harvin had hip surgery in August when doctors found a blockage that might have been there since he was in high school. Prior to the operation, Harvin reportedly had to lay on his floor to feel comfortable and was unable to walk upstairs without holding onto the railing. He later mentioned he’s been training with a former Olympian and now weighs 185 pounds. Harvin prefers signing with “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 injuries were definitely the reason he hasn’t played since 2016 but he says he never officially retired. “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.”

Harvin previously admitted to smoking marijuana before every game to deal with his migraines and anxiety disorder in an October interview with Bleacher Report. “The only thing that really seemed to work is when I would smoke marijuana,” Harvin said. “There’s not a game that I played in that I wasn’t high.”

Harvin added that his anxiety was at its worst upon his arrival in Seattle and was one of the main factors that contributed to him hitting former teammate Golden Tate in the locker room during the week of Super Bowl 48 in 2013. “Thinking about it now, I can’t even believe I did it,” Harvin said in October. Tate was asked about how Harvin’s return from a concussion in the previous game would impact the team going forward. He said the team was able to win without him and would be fine if he didn’t play in the Super Bowl. The altercation caused teammates and coaches to separate the two players while Marshawn Lynch acted as a “peacemaker” to reduce the tension, Harvin said.

Now, he’ll have to wait and see if teams are willing to take a chance on a player who turns 32 in May.

“The need for guys that can catch the ball and create after the catch is always at a premium in the NFL,” Harvin’s agent Alvin Keels said. “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.”

Percy Harvin has returned to the NFL.

Percy Harvin Exits Retirement; WR Re-Signs With Bills

The 28-year-old wide receiver is exiting retirement to rejoin the Buffalo Bills, Harvin’s agent confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Bills will pay the wideout a whopping $1 million, including incentives, over the final eight games of the season. The one-year deal reunites Harvin and Buffalo less than seven months after he told the team he planned to retire.

Harvin, plagued by a hip injury, played five games with the Bills last season before he was placed on injured reserve in November.

“Percy is a guy that worked so hard,” said head coach Rex Ryan, via the team site. “It’s either full speed (or nothing), and sometimes you try to back him down a little bit, but that’s why last year he was so frustrated that he wasn’t able to contribute more to our team. He just needed some time away from the game to get healed up. So hopefully we catch lightning in a bottle so to speak and Percy is back to himself.”

Healthy again, Harvin now rejoins a Buffalo team in need of receiving help with Sammy Watkins (foot) out until at least Week 12, Greg Salas (groin) on injured reserve and Marquise Goodwin coming off a concussion.

Harvin was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings as a first-round pick (22nd overall) in 2009 out of Florida, and spent three seasons there before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks, with whom he spent one year. The Bills (4-4) will visit the Seahawks on Monday. Buffalo is coming off a 41-25 home loss to the New England Patriots.

His first year with the Vikings, Harvin made the Pro Bowl and was also named NFL Rookie of the Year. He won the Super Bowl with the Seahawks against the Denver Broncos in 2014.

With Buffalo’s bye coming up in Week 10, we will more likely see Harvin eased into action the following week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills subsequently play the Jaguars, Raiders, Steelers and Browns.

Thus, there remain a few more games until it becomes evident whether Buffalo’s decision to re-sign the wideout will have truly paid off.

MIAMI GARDENS, FL – SEPTEMBER 27: Percy Harvin #18 of the Buffalo Bills rushes during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on September 27, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)