Patriots activate receiver N’Keal Harry from injured reserve

The Patriots are getting a player back before Sunday’s big tilt against the Buccaneers.

Wide receiver N’Keal Harry will be activated from injured reserve, making him eligible to play Sunday.

Harry missed the first three games of the season due to a shoulder injury he suffered in the Patriots’ second preseason game. He returned to practice on Wednesday, meaning the Patriots had 21 days to either activate him or he’d have to miss the rest of the season.

Entering training camp, Harry’s future with the team was in doubt. His agent made his trade request public, and after suffering the shoulder injury, Harry was speculated to be a candidate to get cut when the roster shrunk to 53 players. The Patriots ultimately kept Harry on cutdown day, placing him on IR shortly after.

The 2019 first-round pick has mostly failed to live up to expectations in his first two seasons in the league. He has just 45 catches for 414 yards with four touchdowns over his first two seasons.

Through the first three weeks of the season, the Patriots’ receivers haven’t been too impressive. Jakobi Meyers has looked solid, catching 19 passes for 176 yards to start. Nelson Agholor’s caught just five passes for 38 yards over the last two games following a solid Week 1 performance.

Harry’s addition to the active roster is presumably in place of James White, who was placed on IR after a hip injury he suffered in Week 3. White was the Patriots’ leading pass-catcher through the first two weeks, with 12 catches out of the backfield.