The Patriots Put N'Keal Harry on IR and Re-Sign Demaryius Thomas

Neither of these moves were unexpected. N’Keal Harry hasn’t seen the field much at all since messing his ankle up in the first preseason game. And the announcement Saturday that the Pats had “released” Demaryius Thomas was a stunner for the three minutes or so before it was followed by the word that they had every expectation of bringing him back. And that the move was nothing more than one of those arcane bits of roster juggling involving rules no one outside of NFL personnel offices ever comprehends. Like the way the Pats waived Ross and Ray Ventrone 50 times each and the only reason I can spell Gene Mruczkowski is because he saw the waiver list more than he saw the field from 2004-06.

Anyway, this is a bad beat for Harry, obviously. He can’t practice with the team until Week 6 and then can’t be on the active roster until Week 8. It’s hard enough earning Tom Brady’s trust without missing half a season. He’s like one of those pterodactyl things in “Avatar,” where you have to sort of fight with him, get thrown by him and then hang on until you wrap your hair around each other’s and make that psychic connection. Then you bond for life. It’s doubly tough for a rookie. Malcolm Mitchell came damned close to becoming one of those guys Brady simply wouldn’t look to. And it really wasn’t until late in the season and the playoffs when he was fully accepted into the Circle of Trust. And right now, Mitchell’s production (48 Targets, 32 Receptions, 4 TDs) seems like it’s more than we can reasonably hope for out of Harry. As a matter of fact, getting anything close to that would be like finding a massive deposit of Unobtainium right about now. Even if it’s not exactly what you’re dreaming of in the War Room when you decide to take a wideout in the 1st Round.

As far as Thomas, no one has seen Brady throw to him. He had just over a week’s worth of practices before getting significant reps in the final Fauxball game against the Giants and looked the furthest thing from a guy who blew out his Achilles at Christmastime. Jarrett Stidham targeted him 8 times, he caught 7 of them for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns. And the thought of him lining up alongside Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon, moving Philip Dorsett and Jakobi Meyers to the 4th & 5th receiver roles is a reason to be happy summer is over. And should be hitting every defensive coach in the league like Dorian.

So if Gordon can stay away from the Northern Lights Indica brownies, they should have one of the most talented and deep receiver corps in the league. Then halfway through the season add a talented rookie into the mix. It still sucks on toast that Harry had to be IR’ed, but given how barren the position looked just a couple of weeks ago, that’s one problem this team can definitely afford for now.