How N’Keal Harry’s impending return can help Bears passing game
Bears wide receiver N’Keal Harry has been designated to return from injured reserve, opening a 21-day window for his return to the team.
Harry suffered an ankle injury back on Aug. 6, which required surgery. He was placed on IR on Sept. 1, making him eligible to return in Week 5 against the Vikings.
Whether or not Harry actually suits up for Sunday’s game remains to be seen. But the team is expecting his return within the next few weeks, which can only help what’s been a thin receiving corp and an even worse passing game.
Darnell Mooney, Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis led an underwhelming group in Week 4. Rookie Velus Jones Jr. has yet to make his debut on offense while Byron Pringle is on IR.
Heach coach Matt Eberflus knows the impact a big-bodied wideout like Harry can bring to this receivers group, especially when it comes to addressing some situational issues.
“Obviously when you have a big-bodied receiver like that that’s open and has got a good catch radius and can big-body guys, that’s an important thing to have,” Eberflus said, via ChicagoBears.com. “Situational football, third down and red zone, those are all important things to look at when you’re looking at catchers, and he certainly has that.”
While Harry didn’t have a lot of time with quarterback Justin Fields this summer, their connection was starting to develop. Fields understands the importance of having a receiver like Harry, who could potentially be a matchup nightmare with his size.
“He would of course be a good matchup for smaller DBs,” Fields said. “One-on-one, especially red zone, just throwing up a jump ball to him, that’s one of the things he does really well. So just being able to throw more 50-50 balls.”
At this point, the Bears should try anything and everything to try and light a spark in this passing game.
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