New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he’s seen progress and improvement from N’Keal Harry ahead of the rookie wide receiver’s potential return to the lineup.
Harry, who suffered a hamstring injury in New England’s preseason opener and landed on injured reserve, returned to practice two weeks ago and is eligible to be added to the 53-man roster for Sunday night’s matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.
“I think N’Keal’s been working hard,” Belichick said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters. “Even though he hasn’t been able to participate in practice until recently, he’s been able to do other things — train, study, watch film, keep up with the terminology and game plan adjustments that we make.
“And then more recently, he has been able to get on the field and primarily take scout-team reps but also do other things, individual drills and some of the other competitive drills and so forth that we’ve done. It’s definitely improving.”
Belichick has not indicated whether Harry will be activated this week. Under NFL rules, which require players on IR to be activated within 21 days of their return to practice, the Patriots could choose to keep him off the roster until next Monday or Tuesday, delaying a corresponding roster move.
The Patriots have their bye next weekend, so holding Harry out would allow him to log two more weeks’ worth of practice reps before his regular-season NFL debut. If the Arizona State product is not added to the roster by next Tuesday, he would revert to IR and be unable to return this season.
“It’s good to have him back out there and see him working,” Belichick said. “I’d say each day, as you would expect, a little more improvement and confidence and taking things a little bit further than the day before. But he’s missed a lot of time. He still has a long way to go. He’s definitely trending in the right direction. We just have to evaluate where it is and what helps the team the most here.”
Harry, the 32nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, was the first receiver drafted in the first round by the Patriots during the Belichick era. At 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, he projects as an outside receiver who could fill the spot vacated by Josh Gordon’s departure.
The Patriots’ receiving corps currently consists of Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski and newcomer Mohamad Sanu, who joined the team via trade last week.
