A wide receiver with Arizona ties is unhappy with his current team. N’Keal Harry, who played at Arizona State collegiately and was drafted in 2018 by the New England Patriots in the first round, has requested a trade.
Harry’s agent released a statement shared by NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo.
For the past several months, I have been working in cooperation with the Patriots behind the scenes to put a plan in place toe allow N’Keal to thrive in New England. Through two seasons, he has 86 targets, which obviously hasn’t met the expetctaions the Patriots and N’Keal had when they drafted a dominant downfield threat who was virtually unstoppable at the point of attacj in college. Following numerous conversations with the Patriots, I believe it’s time for a fresh start and bext for both parties is N’Keal moves on before the start of training camp. That is why I have informed the Patriots today I am formally requesting a trade on behalf of my client.
N’Keal understands a key ingredient to production is opportunity. He will continue to work hard top develop and refine his craft after missing a large portion of his rookie year to injury. His draft-day expectations for his NFL career have not changed. We are confident success is just around the corner for him and will aggressively pursue it.
Should the Cardinals pursue Harry?
Maybe.
The issue is that he makes more sense later rather than now.
Trading for him before training camp wouldn’t really fit their current-year plans.
The Arizona Cardinals feel confident in the wide receiver room they have. They have one of the very best in the game in DeAndre Hopkins. A.J. Green has been one of the league’s best for the last decade, although his production dipped the past seasons.
The belief is he can bounce back as a No. 2 receiver for Arizona. Christian Kirk has potential in the slot and there is promise with rookie receiver Rondale Moore.
However, Green is only on a one-year deal. The Cardinals supposedly were very interested in drafting Harry in 2018, but he was taken one pick before the Cardinals could take him. Instead, they selected cornerback Byron Murphy.
If the goal is to get traded before camp, it doesn’t make sense for the Cardinals. He would not have any more opportunity than he has in New England.
However, should Green get hurt or be ineffective, a move near the trade deadline would be great. And if he is still in New England next offseason and things have not gotten better, that would be the perfect time to trade for him.
Harry is still under contract through 2022 and a team option for 2023. That totally fits what the Cardinals need.
That said, the Cardinals do not make a good trade partner right now, so it would be surprising if they show much interest before camp.
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