Bill Belichick Details Why Patriots Traded N’Keal Harry

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ith Week 7 inching closer for the New England Patriots, fans will get to see a familiar face at Gillette Stadium.

With the Chicago Bears coming to Foxboro for some Monday night football, a reunion will be taking place. N’Keal Harry will be making his first visit to New England since being traded by the Patriots to the Bears.

After being drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Harry failed to live up to expectations with the Patriots. In three seasons he only managed 57 receptions for 598 yards over 33 games along with four touchdowns per Pro Football Reference.

With Harry making his return, Belichick touched upon the wide receiver’s stint in New England before the Monday night matchup.

“Big, talented kid,” Belichick said 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.”

Is Harry Excited to Play the Patriots?

When a player goes up against their former team there is bound to be some excitement. If that team traded you, that player now has a point to prove.

Harry said that he has had the matchup against New England circled on his calendar.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Its my old team. That always comes with wanting to play well.”

Harry added that he is also excited to make his Bears debut.

“It’s been hard just sitting here watching, especially once I started going to the games and standing on the sidelines,” Harry said. “It just brings you so much closer to the actual game. So I’m excited. I’m ecstatic.”

Are Any Patriots Excited to See Harry?

While Harry is obviously excited to play against his former team, one of Harry’s old teammates, Jakobi Meyers, is excited to see him.

“I’m excited to see my guy,” Meyers said. “It’s been a minute. We ain’t talked in a minute. I’ll be happy to see him. Definitely.

“We just went through the dog days together,” Meyers added. “It’s hard to come in and be young here and earn everybody’s trust. We stuck it out, we came in here together. It was a bunch of us, not just me and him, but a bunch of guys who came in every day and pushed each other to be better.”

Both receivers arrived in New England in 2019. Meyers was an undrafted free agent while Harry was a first-round pick. Meyers even admitted that Harry was a factor in the undrafted free agent joining the Patriots.

“So this is a story that I’ve never told anybody in my life,” Meyers told Kyle Van Noy in 2021. “And you know N’Keal is my brother. I love N’Keal. We be with each other every day. But when it came down to picking teams, I had a couple teams. So I looked at all the teams who offered me, and it’s: did they draft a receiver? And if they drafted a receiver, where did they draft him?

“The highest-drafted that was a receiver was the Patriots, and I said, so if they drafted a receiver in the first round, I’m going to go in there and show them I could play with a first-rounder. I was just kind of betting on myself.”

Meyers has been the Patriots leading receiver so far this season. He has 24 receptions for 321 yards and a touchdown per Pro Football Reference.