N'Keal Harry requests trade from Patriots: Cardinals among three landing spots for former first-round receiver

 

N'Keal Harry's days with the New England Patriots appear to be nearing an end. On Tuesday, the former first-round pick's agent, Jamal Tooson, revealed that the receiver has formally requested a trade and has been communicating with the organization about a departure for the past several months. Harry's displeasure centers around the lack of targets he's received over the two seasons he's been in Foxborough and is now looking for a team that would allow him to be a more central figure in the offense. 

While the receiver may have now requested a trade, a split between these two sides in some form or another seemed inevitable and could have come as early as the end of training camp this year as Harry has struggled to fit within the offense throughout his short tenure. In the 21 regular season games Harry has played in over his first two seasons in the league, the receiver has tallied just 45 receptions for 414 yards and four touchdowns. That's hardly the type of production that New England was hoping for when they made him the 32nd overall pick at the 2019 NFL Draft, but that doesn't mean another club won't try its hand at tapping into his potential. 

As Harry and the Patriots try to find him a new home, here are three trade partners that could make sense. 

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals were one of the teams heavily linked to Harry when he was coming out of Arizona State back in 2019. He met with the organization multiple times throughout the pre-draft process and even stated that he was extremely confident that Arizona wouldn't let him slip past them at No. 33 overall saying he was "about 95% sure if I'm there at 33 and they're still at that pick, they're going to pick me up."

"Obviously my main goal is to be a first-round pick, to be a first-day pick," Harry told Burns & Gambo on 98.7 FM Arizona's Sports Station back in 2019. "But if, for whatever reason, I do end up slipping to the second round, I don't see myself slipping past 33. So if I do slip out the first round, I would be excited to be an Arizona Cardinal, and that's where I would see myself going if I didn't get picked on day one."

Representatives for Johansson and Jost did not immediately respond to request for comment.