Justin Fields Has a New Target

N'Keal Harry activated to 53-man roster, giving Bears QB a vertical threat.
USA Today
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The Bears will have a new pass target for Justin Fields on Thursday night at Soldier Field.

N'Keal Harry was activated Monday afternoon from injured reserve after going through practice last week.

If they could do it on Monday, it goes without saying that it seems logical they could have done it on Sunday last week to get Harry into the game and provide another target for Fields in the 29-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. That's all irrelevant now, but the activation of Harry could lead to receivers who have been playing either being left on the inactive list or even cut.

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The Bears had only four inactive players on Sunday. Normally they'll have six.

Harry would fit in as an X-receiver type and it's a role they can use. Fields has just begun to get the ball downfield to Darnell Mooney this season and another potential jump ball-type receiver and third-down target could only help.

Harry has 57 career receptions in 103 targets for four touchdowns in three seasons at New England. He started 18 games.

His strength is great ability to make acrobatic catches or plays in the air, but he hasn't always made his presence felt in the offense.

With the Patriots, he started to make receptions downfield last year with a 15.3-yard average, by far better than 8.8 as a rookie and 9.4 in 2020. However, he had just 184 yards on 12 receptions in 12 games, including four starts.

The Bears brought in Harry, a 6-foot-4, 225-pounder, with a trade to New England for a seventh-round 2024 draft pick. He suffered a high ankle sprain in early August, a week into training camp, then went on injured reserve after having surgery to help strengthen and support his ankle.

"I’ll give it 100 out of 100 every time you throw a ball to N’Keal in the red zone," wide receiver Darnell Mooney said of Harry.

If Harry gets activated for Sundays, players like Ihmir Smith-Marsette or Dante Pettis could be left inactive.

Smith-Marsette lost a fumble in Sunday's loss to Minnesota on the Bears' final drive, while Pettis has had problems with dropped passes the last two games.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.