New England Patriots: David Harris rightfully felt disrespected by Jets

One of the surprise moves by the New England Patriots this offseason was them being able to sign David Harris. The release of Harris certainly came out of left field.

After winning their fifth Super Bowl, the New England Patriots certainly didn’t sit on their hands when it came to free agency this offseason. They were one of the most active teams this offseason, whether it be signing free agents or making trades.

There is a general consensus that the Patriots had a strong offseason. While they did lose some key players from their Super Bowl team, they were able to replace them with players that should fill the roles on paper.

One of the moves that were a good one for the Patriots was the decision to sign David Harris of the New York Jets. Harris has been a very solid linebacker in the league since he was drafted by the Jets. While he might not have ever been a superstar, he was durable and always gave the Jets his all.

This offseason, the Jets made it pretty clear that they were going into a full rebuild. They got rid of a lot of their veterans, but Harris survived the initial purge. Late into the offseason, the Jets finally decided to cut Harris. As a long-time member of the team, he was shocked to be released by the Jets. Here’s what he said about the release via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com.

"“They kind of blindsided me with the whole thing, being so late in the offseason, a week before minicamp. It came out of left field. It was more about the disrespect of the whole situation than anything else.”"

For the Jets, cutting Harris will certainly make them worse in 2017. Last season, the Jets used their first round pick on linebacker Darron Lee. In his rookie season, Lee was one of the worst linebackers in the NFL, and also had an altercation off the field this offseason. In addition to Lee, the Jets also brought back DeMario Davis. The Jets did have Davis a few years ago, but he isn’t near the player that Harris is, even at Harris’ age.

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For the Patriots, adding Harris for a very reasonable price was a great move. He will be able to provide them some veteran depth in 2017, and he might be able to get his first championship in the NFL.