As Percy Harvin headed west to join his new team in Seattle, he left behind an unfavorable national report about his opinion of Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder and the role it played in Minnesota trading the receiver.

But as far as Ponder is concerned, that opinion no longer matters.

The quarterback told the Pioneer Press on Tuesday, March 12, that Harvin never directly told him he was unhappy with his play, adding he thought he had a “good relationship” with the receiver. Ponder said he hadn’t thought much about the idea that Harvin was critical of him until Yahoo Sports reported Monday that Harvin’s complaints about the quarterback were a main reason why the Vikings traded him.

“The thing is, there’s no quote strictly from Percy that he was the one saying it,” Ponder said. “I haven’t put too much thought into it. If that was his opinion, that’s unfortunate. But he’s a Seahawk now, so it doesn’t really matter.”

Harvin went home to Florida once the Vikings placed him on injured reserve in December, and Ponder said he hadn’t spoken to the receiver since then.

When Harvin was introduced in Seattle on Tuesday, he thanked the Vikings for a “good” four years, saying he enjoyed playing with Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre. He also said he was looking forward to playing with an “up-and-coming” quarterback in Seattle’s Russell Wilson, who has one fewer NFL season than Ponder does.

But Harvin declined comment when asked about reports his lack of confidence in Ponder was why the Vikings traded him.

As Ponder heads into his third NFL season, though, the organization appears firmly in his corner.

General manager Rick Spielman and coach Leslie Frazier have praised the way the quarterback played in the team’s final four regular-season games. Frazier said at the NFL scouting combine that the Vikings would only be looking for a backup quarterback who understood that Ponder was the starter, adding that “as long as Christian keeps improving, we feel like we’ve got what we need to bring a championship to Minnesota.”

And rather than keeping Harvin, the Vikings will rebuild a group of receivers for Ponder.

“Hopefully we can find some guys to come in and perform, whether that’s in the draft or through free agency,” Ponder said. “I fully trust what Rick Spielman and coach Frazier are doing. They’re putting the team first.”

Ponder, who has been working out at the Athletes’ Performance Institute in Phoenix, said the elbow bruise that kept him out of the NFC wild-card game is feeling looser than it was when he started working out. He is doing quarterback drills and watching film of every throw he made during the 2012 season, looking for ways to improve his decision-making.

Of the Harvin trade, Ponder said:

“Seattle wins, because they get him. Percy wins — he got a new contract, which was what he really has been wanting. And we win, because we get some good draft picks.

“People have their opinions. There were things I could have done better (last season). But now that he’s on a different team, his opinion doesn’t really mean much.”

Follow Ben Goessling at twitter.com/BenGoesslingPP.