Patriots Officially Decline Fifth-Year Option On N’Keal Harry, As Predicted

We are not even surprised. The New England Patriots decided to decline the fifth-year option in the deal of former first round pick N’Keal Harry. The Patriots wasted a first-round pick on the wide receiver, hoping to turn him into a great target for quarterback Tom Brady. Harry didn’t even established a relationship with the former Patriots quarterback.

5th-year options declined, officially:

No. 4: Clelin Ferrell
No. 6: Daniel Jones
No. 10: Devin Bush
No. 18: Garrett Bradbury
No. 22: Andre Dillard
No. 24: Josh Jacobs
No. 27: Johnathan Abram
No. 28: Jerry Tillery
No. 29: LJ Collier
No. 31: Kaleb McGary
No. 32: NKeal Harry

11/32

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 2, 2022

Harry, 24, failed to meet expectations. Things went downhill right after he inked his deal with the team. The 32^nd overall selection caught Bill Belichick’s eye, but he was nothing but a disaster on the football field. Yes, Harry had some flashes in the last few seasons, but it wasn’t enough to secure his future in New England.

Patriots have no plans for N’Keal Harry

We can freely say that Harry had almost no impact on the game. He struggled with injuries and inconsistency. His first three seasons in the NFL were terrible. He missed too much time due to injuries and was a healthy scratch at one point last season. If you followed his career, you probably know that Harry played only 35 of a possible 35 games. He recorded only 59 catches for 519 yards and four touchdowns. He also had eight carries for 56 yards.

These numbers pushed him down to the list of wide receivers in the NFL. Harry may be a talented player, but he is not a good fit for the Patriots. He struggled to make an impact. To make things worse, Harry requested a trade through his agent last summer. Stories about his trade faded away and Harry joined his teammates in the regular season. Did he make an impact? Absolutely not. He struggled to build chemistry with Mac Jones as well. The same happened last season with Cam Newton at center.

In 2021, Harry was the fourth option on the depth chart at his position. He saw only 28.3 percent of the offensive snaps. It would be fair to say he didn’t meet expectations and Belichick had to decline his $12.4 million fifth-year option. Eleven 2019 first-rounders don’t have the fifth-year option in their deals exercised.