A new face joins the crowd as the Chicago Bears completely rebuild at wide receiver, where they have Darnell Mooney and a cast of newcomers.
The Bears are acquiring N’Keal Harry, a former first-round draft pick from the New England Patriots, in a trade for their 2024 seventh-round pick. NFL Media was first to report on the deal.
Harry was a bust in New England as the 32nd pick in the 2019 draft, selected ahead of AJ Brown, Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf, Diontae Johnson and Terry McLaurin, but the Bears are buying little and getting a player who should be motivated to enter the final year of his rookie deal.
Harry reportedly requested a trade before last season, but that didn’t materialize. He now has a new home where the depth chart is open two weeks before training camp.
The Arizona State product totaled just 57 receptions for 598 yards and four touchdowns in 33 games in his first three seasons. He had 12 catches for 184 yards and didn’t score in 12 games last season.
Harry was highly productive for the Sun Devils across three seasons, most notably in 2017 and 2018, when he combined for 2,230 yards and 17 touchdowns. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound player was able to use his size and strength to overpower defenders in college, but he hasn’t had a physical presence in the NFL.
The Bears have playing-time competition in Byron Pringle, signed to a one-year, $4.125 million deal, and third-round pick Velus Jones. Equanimeous St. Brown, Dante Pettis, Tajae Sharpe and 2021 sixth-round pick Dazz Newsome are also part of a crowded room.
It’s a minimal investment for the Bears. Maybe a fresh start will turn out to be what Harry needs.