What Bill Belichick Expects From N’Keal Harry In Patriots-Bears

Arguably the biggest Patriots draft bust of the Bill Belichick era will make his return to Gillette Stadium this week.

New England used a first-round pick on N’Keal Harry in 2019, and the big-bodied wide receiver never came close to living up to that draft slot, managing just 57 receptions and catching 55.3% of his targets over three disappointing Patriots seasons.

After a public trade request and a year’s worth of rumors and speculation, the Patriots finally cut bait with Harry this past July, shipping him to the Chicago Bears for a 2024 seventh-round pick before training camp. Harry landed on injured reserve before the season but was activated last week and could make his Bears debut as his new club visits New England on “Monday Night Football.”

Ahead of that Week 7 matchup, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about Harry’s forgettable tenure in Foxboro, Mass.

“Big, talented kid,” Belichick said Wednesday in a video conference. “Things didn’t really work out here the way that I think all of us hoped for. Everybody tried, it just didn’t work out. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go, and I’m sure he’ll play hard.”

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The Bears will be hoping Harry can boost their lackluster receiving corps, which ranks among the NFL’s weakest. Darnell Mooney leads Chicago with 17 catches on 33 targets for 241 yards through six games, and no other Bears wideout has caught more than six passes. Equanimeous St. Brown, Dante Pettis, Velus Jones and Imhir Smith-Marsette round out that group.

Harry told reporters last week that he’s “ecstatic” to suit up for the Bears and “absolutely” motivated to perform well against his former team.

The Patriots’ latest receiver draftee, meanwhile, is off to an encouraging start after missing the first four games with a broken collarbone. Second-round rookie Tyquan Thornton caught one touchdown and rushed for another in last week’s 38-15 win over the Cleveland Browns and could play a large role Monday night with Nelson Agholor (hamstring) and Kendrick Bourne (toe) both recovering from injuries.