N’Keal Harry may have requested a trade, but the Patriots wideout could end up having a chance to choose his next team. As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes on Twitter, we “can’t rule out the Patriots simply cutting” the former first-round pick.
[RELATED: Patriots WR N’Keal Harry Requests Trade]
New England still owes Harry a bit more than $2MM in guaranteed salary. However, as Volin observes, that number would be reduced based on how much money Harry received from his next team. It’s worth noting that the receiver is set to earn a fully guaranteed salary of $1.413MM in 2021, and his minimum salary would be set around $850K, so the Patriots would at most be on the hook for around $500K if they cut him.
For comparison’s sake, the Patriots would be left with cap charges of $1.341MM in both 2021 and 2022 if they found a trade suitor for Harry. In other words, it really only makes sense for the Patriots to trade the 23-year-old if they receive an asset that they value more than the ~$800K ($1.34MM-$500K) in cap relief.
Further, releasing Harry might make more sense from a practical standpoint. Teams won’t be looking to give away anything significant for the potential bust, and as Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston writes, the Patriots have been trying to trade Harry throughout the offseason. If the Patriots had already received a logical offer for the wideout, he’d probably be gone, and it’s unlikely that today’s development will change the market all that much. In fact, Curran opines that the trade request is simply Harry’s attempt to “save face” before he’s inevitably dumped.
Through his agent, Harry requested a trade from the Patriots today. The Arizona State product has disappointed since being selected with the No. 32 pick in the 2o19 draft. Through two seasons, Harry has hauled in 45 receptions on 414 yards and four scores. Harry had a chance to prove himself in 2020 with a depleted depth chart, but he’ll have a tougher time getting looks in 2021 following the additions of Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor (plus tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith).
When he was drafted, I know nothing, but said this was a terrible pick. Someone should lose their job over this! It’s like when McDonald’s got rid of Orange Hi-C. No one thought this was a good move
NFL GMs had collective group think in 2019 over Metcalf. They thought they were so smart passing on him and took inferior WRs for ridiculous reasons.
The McDonalds remark is pretty funny but I was actually more devastated when I learned Monopoly was giving the thimble token the boot.
I hope they follow up with an article on Orange Hi-C.
Obviously, the agent prefers he be traded before he is dropped from the roster. As I recall Brady would not even target the guy.
AZ had a lot of interest in Harry in the draft. The Pats took him one spot before AZ could grab him in the second round. AZ picked Andy Isabella, who the Pats had interest in. Why not just a swap?
Isabella has value and Harry’s career is over, so unless the pats attach a first round pick no way on that trade
Isabella has less catches yards and tds and is a year older than Harry. In what world is a team giving up a first for Isabella
Well Andy Isabella has played pretty well despite being in a very strong WR group, where he could’ve easily gotten lost in the background. Meanwhile N’keal Harry has floundered despite having little competition. He had Tom Brady and Cam Newton, while Isabella had a very young Kyler Murray. There is no match between the two. Even looking at video of the two comparably you can see difference of effort Isabella puts in. Trade them straight up for the two would be dumb. I would need at least a second if not first round pick paired with Harry to accept if I’m the cardinals. Isabella is really good, while Harry is a bust
Isabella has played so good that they traded for Hopkins and signed AJ green.
Because both suck?
Isabella is a pretty specific receiver, as is Harry. Thing is, Isabella hasn’t disappointed in his (admittedly much smaller) expected role. Harry has. Isabella is speedy lower end of the depth chart smaller receiver. Harry is a tall, number one, difficult catch, high point receiver. Those guys play one or two on the outside. If Harry cannot do that, he’s not worth much to a team. He’s not a route runner or a burner. He just is supposed to have great hands. I can’t blame Belichick for picking that type of receiver, and most people didn’t when it occurred. But it hasn’t worked-my guess being the complexity of the Patriots’ offense for a guy who got by mostly on athleticism in college.
But if the Pats and Cards were to swap (which I don’t see happening given that the Cards made a flurry of offseason moves and A.J. Green and DeAndre Hopkins will both fill the role Harry is supposed to), they likely would swap a pair of other draft picks. Players are rarely swapped straight up, especially when only one is regarded as truly being a disappointment.
Howie, how bout it? low risk, probably higher upside than JJ at this point.
Have fun on the bench and never seeing a rep, BB gonna sit on him now.
Can we stop pretending Andy Isabella is good? Dude has less than 50 catches in 2 seasons. There is no world that dude is worth a first rounder.
Not to defend the guy but…
a) to his credit, Brady targets receivers with whom he has confidence. I don’t recall ever reading about him having private workouts with Harry during his rookie season; Brady had Edelman and it was clear he didn’t have confidence in Harry (not that Harry did much, if anything, to build confidence)
b) last season, Cam was under Center, and he’s never been close to a WR-friendly QB
I watched Harry in college and he’s a lot better than what I’ve seen in the NFL … however … he wouldn’t be the first to be College Elite but Professionally Bleh
Fingers crossed it works out for him
I think he can be a good WR3. Hard to develop into one when there’s nobody good around you to help open up the field.
He probably found out that Cam was going to be the starter again and did the smart thing and requested a trade.
He’s a bust. Couldn’t get open in college. Can’t get open now.
Avg nfl career is 3yrs … times about up for Harry