N’Keal Harry, Patriots wide receiver, is being polite as possible.
Former Arizona State University wide receiver, 6’4″, was selected in the first round of the 2019 draft. He now requests a trade through Jamal Tooson, his agent.
Harry’s rookie season, Tom Brady’s last in New England was marred by injuries. It certainly didn’t live up to the hype. In seven games, he saw the field for 12 receptions and 24 targets, which netted him 105 yards and two touchdowns.
The Patriots offense in 2020 was largely ruined by Brady’s departure. Cam Newton was the center of the Patriots offense, and it looked promising during the first week. They lost a 35-30 match against the Seattle Seahawks. Harry was able to catch eight targets for 72 yards and saw 12 targets. He would not see more than six targets per game the rest of the season, and only two targets in five contests.
Tooson stated that N’Keal recognizes the importance of opportunity as a key ingredient in production.
Good luck if your reason for asking for a trade is that Harry needs more “opportunity”. Harry was limited to two undrafted free agents last year in Jakobi Meyers, Damiere Byrd and the ailing final offerings of Julian Edelman. With less competition, there is no NFL team Harry could choose to play with other than New England.
The quarterback play in Foxborough last season was terrible after Newton contracted COVID-19. The Patriots used an Alabama quarterback Michael McCorkle, a first-round draft choice (and yes I will use his full title whenever I can). McCorkle is not one of those uber-athletic prospects like Justin Fields. However, he has a great season in Alabama and is very accurate from the pocket. He makes good decisions and doesn’t make mistakes. This is very similar to Brady.
A wide receiver has had a difficult start and has not lived up to his first-round draft status. Therefore, it makes no sense to request a trade. New England has him on contract for two more years and has zero chance of recovering the capital it invested in him two seasons ago. They will want to maximize his talent with the new franchise quarterback. Harry should also want that.
Keep your cool, be patient and work hard to get a role in this offense, N’Keal. You won’t beat Meyers or Byrd if you don’t.