Tag: N’Keal Harry

Seahawks sign former 1st round pick to practice squad

Seahawks sign former 1st round pick to practice squad

The Seattle Seahawks made various roster moves on Monday afternoon, the most shocking of which was releasing starting linebacker Tyrel Dodson from his contract. General manager John Schneider made other additions and subtractions to the roster. In perhaps the most unforeseen move, Schneider signed former first-round pick N’Keal Harry to the practice squad.

Harry initially entered the league as the No. 32 overall selection of the New England Patriots in the 2019 NFL Draft. In three seasons at Arizona State, Harry totaled 2123 receptions for 2,889 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the pick backfired in a major way.

Harry struggled to generate separation as a receiver, a concern that was mentioned throughout his pre-draft process. Harry thrived as a contested-catch winner in college. That did not carry over to the NFL.

Harry eventually landed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023. He made the surprising decision to switch positions to tight end. Given his failure to separate from cornerbacks as a wide receiver, playing a less-athletic position was done in an attempt to salvage his career.

Harry hasn’t stuck on any NFL roster as a tight end either. The Seahawks currently have Noah Fant, Brady Russell, AJ Barner, and Pharaoh Brown at tight end on the 53-man roster. Harry joins Tyler Mabry on the practice squad. Seattle’s coaching staff will attempt to develop the failed first-round pick into a usable player.

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Despite position change, N’Keal Harry has a chance to be cut

Minnesota Vikings tight end N’Keal Harry is a prime candidate to be cut before the start of the season according to PFN’s Dakota Randall.

Training camp and the preseason are the time for both youngsters and veterans to make their marks with their teams and prove they belong. Some of those players are trying to do so while learning new positions — like Minnesota Vikings tight end N’Keal Harry.

Unfortunately, not all of those players can make rosters, and one media outlet sees Harry as a prime candidate to be cut before the season starts. Pro Football Network’s Dakota Randall looked around the league and identified one player from each who could be cut before the season starts.

Every team will have to reduce rosters to 53 before the start of the season, so many players are prime candidates for the waiver wire. For Minnesota, Harry jumps out to Randall as the most obvious candidate.

An infamous draft bust, N’Keal Harry now is trying to learn tight end after failing as a receiver. He has the size to play the position, but if he doesn’t show well in camp, he likely will be cut before landing on a practice squad to refine his tight end skills.

If there’s a glimmer of optimism in Harry’s situation, it’s that the Vikings are relatively thin at the position — at least when it comes to playmakers. Veteran T.J. Hockenson is likely to start the season on the PUP list, and the receiving options behind him are limited.

Minnesota brought in former Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears tight end Robert Tonyan to help fill the void in Hockenson’s absence, and he’ll likely be the starter if Hockenson isn’t ready to go to start the season. Behind Tonyan, there’s Josh Oliver, who is on the team more for his blocking prowess than his receiving ability.

That leaves Harry to battle for TE4 with Johnny Mundt and Nick Muse — provided the Vikings even keep four tight ends on the final roster, which isn’t a given. Harry is likely on the outside looking in to make the team, even with the absence of Hockenson.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver N’Keal Harry moving to tight end

The Vikings and head coach Kevin O’Connell announced Tuesday that former wide receiver N’Keal Harry would be transitioning to tight end.

Now that offseason activities are underway, teams are starting to implement their systems for the 2024 season. Now is the time to get new players integrated into the system, get the rookies learning how the pro game works and getting exposure to the system, and – in some cases – get players to learn an entirely new position.

That’s the position the Minnesota Vikings and (former) wide receiver N’Keal Harry find themselves in this summer. Harry, formerly a wide receiver and largely thought of as an NFL draft bust, is going to be learning a new position this summer and hoping to make a contribution to the Vikings as a tight end. A move that both Harry and head coach Kevin O’Connell seem excited about.

N’Keal is really fired up about it. He’s attacked the process long before we ever got started in the off-season program, but you’re hoping to see the receiving traits kinda lead the way early on, as they’ll get a little bit more comfort in maybe having their hand down, being a part of run schemes, the different kind of run schemes that were implementing and N’Keal shown that.

His routability, his ability to be explosive contested catches, different variations where we’re hoping we’re really developing, even at this stage and his caree,r position changes always unique. We’re hoping we’re developing a guy that can grow into a real weapon Redzone weapon with his skill set.

While things haven’t panned out for Harry as a wide receiver, he should be able to use some of those traits as he transitions to his new position. The position change should mitigate some of the struggles Harry has had at the pro level, too, namely his struggles against press coverage and more physical defensive backs.

How much Harry can contribute remains to be seen, but with some uncertainty still lingering around starting tight end T.J. Hockenson and his knee injury, the added depth at the position is certainly helpful.

Former Patriots first-round pick WR taking TE reps with Vikings

A former Patriots top draft pick wide receiver is reportedly taking reps at tight end

Former New England Patriots wide receiver N’Keal Harry has reportedly been taking reps at tight end for the Minnesota Vikings, according to a report from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.

Harry was drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. He was a highly-touted receiver prospect coming out of Arizona State, but he was never able to put things together at the NFL level in New England.

He ended his Patriots career after three seasons, recording 57 catches for 598 yards and four touchdowns in total. The former collegiate standout spent one season with the Chicago Bears, before signing with the Minnesota Vikings last August.

Things haven’t worked out at receiver, but the Vikings could be eyeing a potential move at tight end for Harry.

A positional switch could be just what Harry needs to advance his opportunities in the NFL. He might not have many left if things continue to fizzle out at receiver.

Herm Edwards explains N’Keal Harry’s failed run in New England

Herm Edwards shared his thoughts on N’Keal Harry’s failed run with the Patriots

Former New England Patriots wide receiver N’Keal Harry did not have a productive career in New England. Now his former college coach is coming to his defense in a recent interview.

Harry, who was selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft, recorded 57 catches for 598 yards and four touchdowns in three seasons with the Patriots. His best season in terms of production came in 2020, with Cam Newton under center. Harry recorded 57 receptions for 309 yards and two touchdowns on the year.

Aside from that season, he was not able to put things together in New England. He was traded to the Chicago Bears in 2022 and lasted one season with the team. He was then signed by the Minnesota Vikings in August 2023 and re-signed on a reserve/future contract in January.

Former Arizona State coach Herm Edwards pinpointed one particular reason for Harry’s struggles in New England, as he told Tyler Dunne at “Go Long.”

“He had hanger-on’ers. And it was like, “C’mon, N’Keal.” Because talent-wise? He’s got enough talent,” said Edwards. “He’s a big, strong physical receiver to catch the ball. And then he went to New England. That was the worst place for him to go because it just didn’t fit. That didn’t fit him.”

Harry’s short-lived career in New England was one of the more memorable draft misses of the Bill Belichick era. The Patriots have historically struggled to develop receivers, and Harry’s time with the organization was a classic case of exactly that.

10 players sign future contracts with Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings signed 10 player from the practice squad to futures contracts, keeping them with the franchise during the offseason.

The Minnesota Vikings began shaping their 2024 roster on Monday afternoon by signing 10 players to futures contracts.

A futures contract is one that a player signs when they aren’t signed to a team’s active roster when the season is over. It is for the league minimum depending on how many service years the player has. The players don’t impact the salary cap until the new league year starts on March 13th.

Each year, teams usually sign in the ballpark of 10 players to futures contracts. They are usually players that have been on their practice squads throughout the year but every so often, teams will sign a player from another practice squad.

The Vikings signed 10 players to futures contracts on Monday afternoon with all of them having been on the practice squad.

Vikings re-sign wide receiver to practice squad

The Vikings now have five wide receivers on the practice squad

The Minnesota Vikings did the expected on Monday morning by signing wide receiver N’Keal Harry back to the practice squad.

They released him from the active roster last Tuesday, November 28th due to activating wide receiver Justin Jefferson from injured reserve. With where the Vikings sit, they don’t need Harry on the active roster with him and Jalen Nailor back healthy.

Adding him back to the practice squad was the likely scenario. The former first-round pick hasn’t lived up to the hype, but in the Vikings’ 11 personnel heavy offense, Harry’s size, strength and physicality make an impact with his blocking.

The Vikings now have five wide receivers on the practice squad.

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Vikings make 3 roster moves on Tuesday

Jefferson is officially back on the active roster

The Minnesota Vikings lost a brutal game to the Chicago Bears on Monday night by a score of 12-10. They also did so without wide receiver Justin Jefferson for the seventh consecutive game.

On Tuesday, the Vikings made three roster moves to prepare them for the return of Jefferson.

Vikings bring back WR to practice squad

The Vikings brought back Jackson who they have been developing for multiple years

The Minnesota Vikings waived wide receiver Trishton Jackson from the active roster on Tuesday. One day later on Wednesday, the Vikings signed him back to the practice squad.

Jackson was signed to the active roster ahead on Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears due to Justin Jefferson being placed on injured reserve. He played four offensive snaps against the Bears but N’Keal Harry, who only played one snap, stayed on the active roster. That is likely due to Harry’s experience in the NFL.

Bringing back Jackson onto the practice squad was likely the plan. He has played well when the Vikings have asked him to.

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Vikings waive young wide receiver

The move could signal that Jalen Nailor is ready to come back from his hamstring injury

The Minnesota Vikings have cleared a spot on the 53-man roster. The team announced that they have waived wide receiver Trishton Jackson.

After the injury of Justin Jefferson against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Vikings signed both Jackson and N’Keal Harry from the practice squad in a series of eight moves.

On Sunday afternoon, Jackson played four snaps on offense to Harry’s one, but the reason the Vikings likely kept Harry was because he is a more experienced veteran.

The move drops the Vikings roster down to 52 and Jalen Nailor could be coming back sooner than later. He is eligible to come off of injured reserve this week and could have his practice window activated on Wednesday.

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