Bill Belichick Gives Encouraging Update On Patriots’ WR N’Keal Harry

Patriots rookie wide receiver N’Keal Harry will soon have his NFL debut, and head coach Bill Belichick provided an update on his condition.

The first-round pick out of Arizona State suffered a terrible injury in the preseason opener. Harry was placed on injured reserve, and had to wait at least six weeks before having his first practice and at least eight weeks before being active in a game.

The six-week period is over now, and Harry is eligible to practice. The team can’t wait to have him back on the field.

Coach Belichick says that the rookie is mentally ready to go. Is he physically ready?

If Harry is ready, Belichick will let him practice.

“We hope,” Belichick said, “he’ll be ready to go . . . Physically he needs to be able to show he can go out there and participate competitively at the practice level that we’re at. Hopefully that’s where he’ll be, but we’ll make our final evaluations on that before we put him out there.”

Before practicing, the Patriots will have to inform the league that he has been “designated to return.”

Once the rookie gets on the field, the Patriots will have three weeks to activate him to the active roster or shut him down for the rest of the season. He was great in training camp, and Josh McDaniels shared his thoughts on that one.

“I think the fairest thing to do for any young player . . . is we have to get him back on the practice field,” he said. “We have to make smart decisions about when he’s ready to do what.”

McDaniels explained that it wouldn’t be smart to say to the rookie, “Do everything. Do it all well. Do it all well under pressure.”

Instead, the team will look at his practice reps and determine what he can handle and what he can’t at this point.

“There’s things that hopefully we can build into and do quicker than others,” McDaniels said. “I think the practice field and the results we get on the practice field will tell us what the right time is to use him in different roles.”

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