Latest Vikings rumors have former first-round pick getting his pink slip

It seems like forever ago that N'Keal Harry was making a name for himself catching passes in Tempe. The former first-round pick out of Arizona State by the New England Patriots is now on his third NFL franchise and could be one decision away from being out of the league. Alec Lewis of The Athletic projected that Harry will not be making the Minnesota Vikings' 53-man roster out of training camp.

Harry may have been a reach by the Patriots at No. 32 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. If it wasn't the beginning of the end of the Bill Belichick era of The Patriot Way, the cracks in the foundation were starting to become very obvious then. After spending time with the Chicago Bears, Harry resurfaced with the Vikings last year. Unfortunately, this is not an ideal situation for him to go prove himself here.

This is because all eyes will be on J.J. McCarthy's development. This means more focus will be on one of the Vikings' newest first-round picks, rather than one made by the Patriots years ago. With Justin Jefferson being an established superstar and Jordan Addison well on his way to joining him, there simply is no room for a player who never lived up to the draft hype. Harry's time might be over.

Let's discuss if this is the right move for the Vikings to make, or if they should try to rebuild together.

NFL analyst projects Vikings will cut former fist-round pick N'Keal Harry

You always hope a player can find his way in a new spot if it doesn't work out for him initially. The Vikings appear to be a good landing spot for a wide receiver. Yes, balls may be hard to come by being in the same offense as Addison, Jefferson and tight end T.J. Hockenson, but that also means you are not going up against a team's No. 1, No. 2 or even No. 3 options defensively, in the case of the Vikings.

Truth be told, I think the transition at quarterback hurts Harry's chances of sticking with the Vikings more than anything. If it had still been Kirk Cousins under center, you would have had a year's worth of reps of getting on the same page with the guy. Now, you are splitting reps with a veteran turnover machine in Sam Darnold, another journeyman in Nick Mullens and McCarthy trying to be the starter.

Overall, I think the Vikings should try and do right by Harry here. Give him an honest chance at making the 53-man roster. If he cannot, well, provide him enough tape in the latter part of the NFL preseason so that he can catch on with another team. Again, the Vikings have much bigger fish to fry than to worry about Harry's roster status. All I know is that his pro career is very much in the balances now.

The fact I had to remind you that Harry is even on the Vikings lets you know how things are going.