New England Patriots receiver N’Keal Harry’s days could be numbered in Foxborough.
On Tuesday afternoon, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo posted a statement from Harry’s agent, Jamal Tooson, requesting a trade from the team that selected him with the No. 32 overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Statement from #Patriots WR N’Keal Harry’s agent Jamal Tooson, who has formally requested a trade for the 2019 first-round pick. pic.twitter.com/3xdJbbar28
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) July 6, 2021
Harry never lived up to his draft stock in New England, despite catching passes from two former league MVPs in Tom Brady and Cam Newton. In two seasons with the team, he has only mustered 414 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Given the lack of depth at receiver for the Patriots over the last couple years, Harry still failed to stand out as a reliable target. There was always the argument about him being more of a big-bodied possession receiver coming out of college, rather than a proven route-runner capable of creating separation from defensive backs.
But outside of a few brief glimpses, Harry struggled to show either skillset consistently at the NFL level.
Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s incapable of doing so in a different environment. He’s still a huge target with plenty of natural gifts to help another team out there, if he can stay healthy. The latter part is another reason why he’s come to this crossroads so early in his NFL career.
This entire ordeal is a shame considering coach Bill Belichick passed on receivers like A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel to draft Harry in the first round.
The question now becomes if anyone will even be interested in trading for Harry at this point and what they’d be willing to give up. There was no guarantee he was even going to make the roster this year with the Patriots bringing in Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne. Even Jakobi Meyers managed to surpass Harry on the depth chart after a promising 2020 campaign.
The Patriots were probably already moving in another direction. Perhaps it’s best to go ahead and cut ties now.