Tom Brady Reveals Why He Hasn’t Talked Up Rookie Receiver N’Keal Harry

Do you really try to read into Tom Brady’s comments? Well, you should stop that, because this overthinking doesn’t bring anything good. Some NFL players are convinced that the Patriots quarterback hates rookies. One thing stands for sure, the quarterback doesn’t hate rookie receiver N’Keal Harry.

Prior to the Patriots’ Week 9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the GOAT explained why it’s easier to play alongside a veteran receiver like Mohamed Sanu than a rookie player. It was super easy to fall into the trap of going into this statement closely, because New England had 2019 first-round pick Harry coming off of injured reserve. New England also has undrafted rookies Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski on the 53-man roster.

Brady discussed the comments he made Wednesday when he called in to WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria” show. Christian Fauria, Brady’s former teammate, appeared on WEEI for 25 straight hours to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. Fauria tried to raise $25,000, and he really surpassed his main goal.

N’Keal Harry will go strong

Brady gave a pretty precise answer, and he didn’t want to offend anyone. According to him, if someone wants to ask Harry how he feels he’s doing, they should ask the player. If you ask Brady, then you should definitely not put unfair expectations on the rookie. This doesn’t help in any case. Brady likes Harry, and it’s really unfair to say that he hates him.

Every player on the rookie roster earned that spot with a lot of hard work. That’s how the Patriots roll. Every player has to earn a spot on the roster. They have to earn a role. Players go through practice, earn the trust of their teammates and coaches, and then contribute to the game.

“I think with our team, what I think we’ve done over the years is we’ve not projected expectations for people that put them in an unfair position that people are expecting things that, you know, are not in my control,” Brady said.

“If you want to ask someone like N’Keal how he feels he’s doing, you should ask him. To ask me, and then put unfair expectations on a younger player, I don’t think that is helpful at all. It is really up to each individual player. It is not just N’Keal because I like N’Keal a lot. Everybody’s role is earned and I think that is the mark of the Patriots and that is part of the culture — you have to come out here and you have to earn a spot and earn a role. You do that through practice, earning the trust of your teammates and your coaches that you can be talented when the moments are their biggest.”

The rookie earned praise

The quarterback praised Harry while speaking to OMF. The rookie started off the season on injured reserve after suffering an injury in training camp. His preseason debut didn’t go without an injury either. Harry was eligible to see some action against the Ravens but the Patriots made him inactive. Hopefully, he will play in the game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s see how will this go.

“Unfortunately for N’Keal, he got hurt early in training camp,” Brady said. “He didn’t have the development when other guys were practicing for over two months. He’s working hard. He’s extremely hard-working. He wants to do it. He’s got a great edge about him. I really love that. I really love his tenacity and he’s learning every day, and he’s working hard to get better. I think that is all you can ask of a younger player.”


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