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The real reason N’Keal Harry’s NFL debut was delayed

By Brandon Gimpel

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A video board displays an image of N'keal Harry of Arizona State after he was chosen #32 overall by the New England Patriots during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: A video board displays an image of N'keal Harry of Arizona State after he was chosen #32 overall by the New England Patriots during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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After spending eight weeks on the injured reserve list, N’Keal Harry was set to return against the Ravens. At the last minute, he was ruled inactive and has to wait until week 11 for another chance.

N’Keal Harry was the Patriots‘ first round pick in  this year’s draft, but through nine weeks has not touched the field. He spent the first eight weeks of the season on the injured reserve list and Patriots‘ fans anxiously waited to see him finally suit up on Sunday night against the Ravens. Harry practiced all week, was said to be back at 100%, made the trip to Baltimore, but at the last second he was ruled inactive.

So what’s the story behind this decision to keep him out yet again? Well if you ask Bill Belichick

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he’ll tell you “because there were 46 other guys who were active”. Not the most elaborate answer he could have given, but Bill will be Bill. I don’t believe this was a decision based on his injury continuing to cause issues, I think this was an issue of not being 100% up to speed with the offense. Spending the first eight weeks of his rookie season on the IR probably caused Harry to fall behind with the offense, so all though he is now deemed as “healthy” he still has some catching up to do.

The Patriots have a bye week in week 10, so Harry has two full weeks to learn the playbook before the Patriots take the field again. I am confident Harry will suit up for their week 11 matchup against the Eagles. Mohamed Sanu, who is also very new to this offense, has taken an interest in Harry and has gone out of his way to help the young receiver learn new techniques in tricks. These are things that NFL veterans are supposed to do, and Sanu is proving to be an awesome addition to the team. The Eagles secondary has been battling injuries all season, and the Patriots are coming off a loss to see the media questioning how good they actually are. This is the recipe for a potential huge day for the offense, because Brady and Belichick are fueled by doubters. Harry is someone to keep an eye through these next two weeks of practice because of he can get up to speed, Brady would love to have a big, strong receiver who can win the 50/50 balls, especially in the red zone.

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