In his excellent weekly Sunday column regarding all things Patriots, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com floats an interesting idea regarding Patriots receiver N’Keal Harry.
It’s not a report or a prediction. It’s just a casual, nonchalant comment made in a way that potentially is backed up more than just wild speculation.
Harry, entering his fourth NFL season and the last of his rookie contract in New England, has been absent from offseason workouts. He wanted a trade last year but that never happened. He finished the season with 12 game appearances and 12 total receptions.
Reiss describes Harry as a “long shot” to make the roster “barring injuries” ahead of him on the receiver depth chart. Then Reiss mentions the possibility of Harry seeking a change in status.
“Harry’s best chance might be to ask about a possible switch to tight end to compete with [Devin] Asiasi and [Dalton] Keene as TE3 behind Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith.”
There’s currently no reason to think that Harry is contemplating that. It’s fair to wonder whether the team is hoping that he will, whether the notion of a position switch is being planted as a message to Harry.
He still may hope to be cut or released in order to get a fresh start somewhere else. It just hasn’t worked for him in New England. Could it work for him elsewhere? It seems inevitable that he’ll et a chance to find out.