The Sports Xchange

Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley addressed wide receiver Percy Harvin’s absence from the team this week in London.

Whaley said Friday the Bills have not been in contact with Harvin in recent days but will reach out to him when the team returns following Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“It’s still a personal reason that he’s out and we’ll address it as soon as we get more answers on it,” Whaley said. “We knew the situation and what was going on with him. We found out early last week that he needed to take some time for personal reasons.

“We’re going to focus this week on this game and when we get back we’ll reach out to him and see where he is.”

Harvin did not travel with the team because of what coach Rex Ryan described as a personal issue on Wednesday. The Buffalo News reported Thursday that Harvin might contemplate retirement because he is frustrated by hip and knee injuries, but ESPN reported later, citing a source, that Harvin’s frustration over injuries was accurate but refuted reports he is weighing retirement.

“We’re preparing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. We don’t have him this game,” Whaley said Friday of Harvin. “We’ll see after that. It’s one of those things we have to take day by day and game by game and he’s not here. We have full faith that our backups, we need them to step up and that’s what happens when you have backups. Everybody has to raise their level of play. Our expectation and your guys level of expectation of us isn’t going to dip and we’re not going to dip either. We’ve got to find a way to win.”

The Bills (3-3) are beseiged by injuries, including quarterback Tyrod Taylor (knee), wide receiver Sammy Watkins (ankle) and defensive tackle Kyle Williams (knee). All three starters were ruled out Thursday for Sunday’s game.