Patriots RB Damien Harris off IR, will play vs. Chiefs; Sony Michel placed on IR

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Damien Harris' time to shine for the New England Patriots has come.

The team activated Harris from injured reserve on Monday, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. The second-year running back went on IR with a hand injury before Week 1. He was forced to miss three games, per IR rules. 

Harris was a third-round pick of the Patriots in the 2019 NFL Draft. He impressed in this year's training camp, so it's going to be interesting to see how he fares in his first real football action since last season. Harris played in just one game as a rookie -- a Monday night football win over the New York Jets in Week 7.

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Wide receiver Gunner Olszewski has been activated from IR as well, per multiple reports.

Rapoport also reported the Patriots placed running back Sony Michel on injured reserve. Michel (quad injury) already had been ruled out of the team's Week 4 game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night.

It appears that Michel's time on IR might not be long, though.

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Michel ran for a season-high 117 yards in the Patriots' win over the Las Vegas Raiders last week. It was one of his best performances as a Patriots player.

New England will need Harris and the rest of the running back group to play at a high level with two key components of its ground game -- Michel and quarterback Cam Newton -- unable to play.

The Patriots and Chiefs originally were scheduled to play Sunday afternoon, but the game was postponed to 7:05 p.m. ET on Monday night after it was revealed Saturday that Newton had tested positive for COVID-19.

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