New England Patriots rumors: N’Keal Harry saga about to get crazy good
One of the unexpected hot stories surrounding the New England Patriots heading into training camp is a chess match between a third year struggling wide receiver and a head coach who is a master of the game when it comes to roster management.
We are of course talking N’Keal Harry vs. Bill Belichick.
After formally requesting a trade weeks ago, the former first-round pick has stirred rumors around the NFL about which team would be the best fit for him to resurrect his young career. His request has also triggered a big question: will Belichick trade Harry?
There is no guarantee the New England Patriots trade N’Keal Harry
That’s an intriguing question. While it would seem obvious, especially since the team was rumored to be shopping Harry prior to the 2021 NFL Draft, you can’t rule out Belichick holding onto Harry, at least till his trade value goes up.
That, my friends, is where things could get crazy good when it comes down to the Harry vs. Belichick saga that could still actually end up a win-win for the player and the organization.
As supported by this tweet by Josina Anderson, it appears the player knows what his best path might be, a path that can only benefit the coach he’s trying to get away from:
Update: As dialogue continues with the team, I'm told the current plan is for #Patriots WR N'Keal Harry to attend training camp. In his ongoing preparation for team activities, Harry currently has plans to train with T.J. Houshmandzadeh, per source.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) July 12, 2021
How does Harry reporting to camp benefit Belichick?
If the Arizona State product starts to show and live up to his potential, his trade value would increase. Beyond that it could actually smooth things out. Harry finds a role and the Patriots finally start to get some productivity out of their 2019 first-round pick.
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At this point, that scenario seems far-fetched, especially after the wide receiver made his trade request public. As explained by NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Belichick will make Harry pay for that little unwise move.
"“Now, again, this, I don’t know was the wisest move that N’Keal Harry could have made. If he wants a trade, it would be very simple for him to go into the office of head coach Bill Belichick and privately tell him that he thinks it’s in the best interest of everybody to move on,” Schefter said, as transcribed by CBS Boston.“Be he did it publicly. And my guess would be that if you want out of New England, the way to do that would not be through the media, that if you’re going to do it that way, you hurt your chances and put a bull’s-eye on yourself for the summer.”"
As it stands prior to training camp, N’Keal Harry would come in at least fourth on the wide receiver depth chart behind Nelson Agholor, Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne.
With an even bigger bullseye on him after publicly requesting a trade, Harry will have even more pressure to prove himself throughout training camp to get out of Belichick’s doghouse.
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The benefit for Bill Belichick is if he does do that, he has a nice trade chip in his pocket at the very least. Or, that decision to draft Harry in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft becomes less scrutinized when the player finally puts it all together.
Of course, there is just the possibility that the New England Patriots head coach will just wait till NFL rosters have been set and just release Harry.