Patriots: N’Keal Harry’s trainer calling out Cam Newton is a horrible look
Patriots WR N’Keal Harry’s trainer didn’t exactly say Cam Newton was beneficial for his client.
It’s been a rough start to N’Keal Harry’s NFL career. First, he got a late start his rookie season in 2019 after being placed on injured reserve before the campaign kicked off. That left him with little time to develop a rapport with Tom Brady, who already had few weapons to work with and was clearly on his way out of New England.
Then, the Patriots signed Cam Newton this past offseason, and he hasn’t exactly been an astute passer. However, he also has an ineffectual set of skill players at his disposal, and another uninspiring campaign from Harry has caused some fans to label him a bust.
Well, apparently Harry’s trainer doesn’t see it that way. He thinks Newton is partly to blame, and you can read what he told Henry McKenna of The Patriots Wire below.
N'Keal Harry's trainer says Cam Newton is partly to blame for the WR’s lack of production https://t.co/BbCAIXJbWv
— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) December 16, 2020
“We’ve got a new quarterback. We’ve got to put some of that (expletive) on Cam,” Rischad Whitfield, Harry’s trainer, told McKenna. “Cam hasn’t been the most accurate this year. Like if (N’Keal) had Tom Brady, Tom Brady would’ve fed him. But we’re back there with Cam and Cam’s getting acclimated to the offense, too.
“It’s a big deal coming from Tom Brady to Cam Newton. … That’s one of Cam Newton’s biggest issues is mechanics.”
But … Harry already had playing time with Brady and he did hardly anything with it; in fact, Brady seemed to go out of his way not to involve the first-year wideout. Plus, not to pour it on, but Harry is statistically one of the worst wide receivers in the NFL in terms of getting separation from opposing defensive backs. It’s just a fact. We’re aware Cam isn’t the greatest, but his wide receivers need to give him a chance. Harry has hardly had sure hands or been able to make himself an asset in any other way.
And in a shocking turn of events, Whitfield claims he was misquoted.
https://twitter.com/footwork_king1/status/1339263487567138816?s=20
Not to be taking sides here, but McKenna has been on the Patriots beat for quite a while and we’d venture to say he doesn’t have much to gain by misquoting someone in such a manner. In fact, McKenna’s caption on his tweet is actually much more friendly than what Whitfield said directly! The quotes are difficult to misinterpret!
Patriots fans know what they’ve seen from Harry the last two seasons and you’d be hard-pressed to find many that would put the blame on Newton for his lack of progression. Jakobi Meyers has been just fine. Damien Harris has excelled.
Calling out Newton for anything is a bad look here, and this manic backtracking is even worse.
