AUGUST 9: Although Harry visited the Bills and Eagles, he will only receive the veteran minimum from the Vikings. Harry agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.1MM, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets.
AUGUST 6: Former first-round pick N’Keal Harry has landed at his third NFL home in five years, signing as a free agent with the Vikings, according to Vikings senior editor Craig Peters. The former Patriots and Bears wide receiver will attempt to stick in a wide receivers room that currently houses three other former first round picks. 
Harry’s first few years in the league have been anything but smooth. Ankle and hip injuries limited the Arizona State star to only seven games as a rookie. In his sophomore season, Harry was finally able to get on the field, resulting in career-highs in receptions (33), receiving yards (309), and touchdowns (2). After that season, Harry’s career experienced a bit of turbulence as he requested a trade from New England before the start of the 2021 season. Another testing injury, along with a likely marred relationship with the team, led to a year of regression that ultimately resulted in the young wide out being shipped to Chicago in return for a 2024 seventh-round pick.
Unfortunately for Harry, before he could even really get settled in Illinois, injuries were nagging at him yet again. An apparently severe ankle injury that would require surgery forced the Bears to start their new wide receiver out on injured reserve. Harry would log a catch in all but one appearance in a Bears uniform, but unfortunately, he would only suit up for seven games and make seven catches. The Patriots had declined his fifth-year option as a first-round pick, so following his fourth NFL season, the Bears allowed him to walk as a free agent.
Now, Harry will take on his third chance, hoping to catch passes from Kirk Cousins in Minnesota. He’ll have to climb a depth chart that is a bit top-heavy. Two of the team’s top-three receivers last year, Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn, will return in 2024 to lead the group. The absence formed by Adam Thielen‘s departure for Carolina will be mitigated by the addition of rookie first-round pick Jordan Addison out of USC.
Past those three, one would assume jobs are fairly wide open. Another first-round pick who has struggled to find his role in the NFL, Jalen Reagor returns for a second year with the Vikings. He’s joined backing up the starters by former Rams wide receiver Brandon Powell, sixth-round rookie Jalen Nailor, and others.
Harry hasn’t done much with his career thus far, but he still has the physical tools that helped him excel as a Sun Devil. If he can gain a rapport with Cousins and provide some tools that the others on the team can’t, Harry has a chance to compete with Reagor, Powell, and Nailor for snaps behind Jefferson, Osborn, and Addison.
Man, Herm Edwards got Arizona State one heck of a dynamic duo at the WR spot with N’Keal Harry and Brandon Aiyuk.
Weird how that works out though, initially Harry was the big, pro-ready stud at ASU, and everyone thought he was going to be their next great to flourish at the Pro level. Aiyuk was considered very talented, but had some bust potential, because he wasnt nearly as poloshed as Harry.
Now, Aiyuk is one of the most complete WRs the NFL has to offer, and he’s about to earn himself a contract that proves it. He’s just on the cusp of becoming a household name and supplanting himself as one of the game’s top10 WR with another excellent season this year..
Nailor isn’t a rookie anymore he’s a second year. Who edits these?
The picture of N’Keal is certainly HAIRY.
N’keal Harry: 64 career receptions for 714 receiving yards and 5 TD’s.
4 years in the league and has made $10,251,245. Time to shine in MN or its time to find another line of work.
Thing is, I’m not sure that Minnesota is the best place for Harry. Truth be told, most quarterbacks in the league today don’t play Harry’s style very well-precisely thrown back shoulders are not common place anymore, and few quarterbacks can regularly do them well these days (guys like Mahomes, Herbert, Allen, Burrow, Carr, Wilson, and Rodgers obviously). Harry, as a jump ball receiver, would benefit from those to get into a rhythm. Harry’s individual lack of production doesn’t make that any easier-even if he found an offense to accommodate him, it’s still a long way to go for him to show a diverse enough skill set to get significant snaps, which he obviously has yet to do.
Cousins is a very accurate quarterback-one of the best, despite common opinion-but I don’t know if Minnesota’s offense is going to launch fifty-fifty balls to receivers not named Jefferson very often. It could be a blessing for the Vikings to have another jump ball receiver, and that would take pressure off Jefferson (who would be doubled) in those types of scenarios. I don’t know if Cousins is the exact fit for that style, but he is accurate enough to perhaps take advantage. I could be wrong, however. I think that Harry will get in a few plays a game and have one to three catches in a given week, but I don’t see him supplanting the three receivers ahead of him without injuries occurring.
Hmmm…if he couldn’t make it as a Bears WR that’s telling you something.
Not sure why anyone would expect to find elite WRs in Chicago. They are rather inept at developing QBs and if Fields doesn’t soon have a breakout season he’ll be the latest disappointment on a long list.
I’m just glad he’s going to be on the Vikings IR instead of the Bears. Less clutter.
Unless there is an injury, he won’t make the final roster.