Patriots: Mohamed Sanu release signals team’s faith in N’Keal Harry

It’s time for N’Keal Harry to shine with Mohamed Sanu getting cut by the Patriots.

Remember when New England Patriots fans were concerned for a second when N’Keal Harry was absent from training camp? It wasn’t long before Harry returned, became a key target for quarterback Cam Newton, and quelled those concerns.

He flashed signs of potential last year in limited time as injuries hampered his rookie campaign. It’s not exactly easy to spend the first 10 weeks of the season sidelined with an injury and then get thrust into the Patriots’ complex offense with high expectations.

Remember, he was the only wideout Bill Belichick selected in the first round since taking over in New England.

Now that he’s apparently fully healthy and establishing a promising rapport with Newton, the Patriots’ release of Mohamed Sanu proves they’re confident in Harry to take the next step (a big one) in 2020.

Though Sanu is more of an inside/underneath wideout and far from specializes on the outside, the Pats opting to seemingly go with Damiere Byrd, a former teammate of Newton’s, in place of the former Falcons wideout, indirectly shows trust in Harry to effectively produce alongside Julian Edelman.

Why else would they downgrade (on paper) with a new QB and the losses of their starting right tackle, fullback and tight end after the offense struggled to catch on for the entirety of last season?

The only logical explanation is that the coaching staff envisions Harry making a leap during his sophomore season. There’s speculation Sanu’s release had financial implications, but he was due $6.5 million and the Pats had $31 million in cap space before cutting him loose.

Is there pressure on Harry though? Not really. More of that is on Newton, but we previously talked about how the former Panthers QB would benefit Harry in a big way. Newton’s mobility will allow Harry to break off routes and use his physicality to create separation in additional manner. Also, Newton loves to spread the ball around, so it’s not like Harry will be relied upon to be the top guy — Newton’s new to the offense, he doesn’t have any top or favorite targets yet.

Who knows, maybe Harry will become one.

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