Saints could be in an even worse situation after Deonte Harris arrest
New Orleans Saints fans awoke to the news that wide receiver/return specialist Deonte Harris was arrested a few weeks ago while in Baltimore. This is a bad situation no matter how you spin it, but for a team with a huge glaring hole at wide receiver, it’s even worse, not to mention the impact Harris has on the Saints’ special teams.
I included a tweet from Amie Just below that details the situation a little more. The case remains open so we don’t have much to go off of just yet.
Jeff Nowak of WWL Radio Sports discussed what kind of punishment Harris could looking at as far as the NFL is concerned and circled back to P.J. Williams getting suspended for two games in 2019 and former Saints receiver Willie Snead serving a three-game suspension (shortened from four) in 2017.
More details from Deonte Harris' arrest in July, per court records:
— Amie Just (@Amie_Just) July 29, 2021
- Driving vehicle under influence of alcohol
- Exceeding posted maximum speed: 77 in a 55
- Negligent driving
- Reckless driving
- Failure to obey traffic control device instructions
Case remains open.
The Saints are already in a rough spot at the receiver position due to the news surfacing about Michael Thomas’ injury/surgery. Harris is more of a return specialist but with Thomas out and not many other experienced guys on the roster, he was probably going to see a bigger role in the offense until Thomas came back.
The New Orleans Saints are running out of wide receivers.
Chris Hogan was signed earlier in the week but that’s not a signing that’s going to do much. I’ve written several times before about how the Saints desperately need to trade for a game-changing, ankle-breaking receiver, but with how little money and few draft picks the Saints have to barter with, that seems like a near-impossible situation.
Harris is a big piece for the Saints and even if he’s out just a handful of games, that could really hurt this team in multiple aspects. He’s elusive on special teams and has a chance to make a big return anytime the ball is sent his way.
As a receiver, he hasn’t been utilized a ton to this point but he did find the end zone last year, which was his first NFL receiving touchdown. The Saints hoped he’d add a few more this year and there’s certainly still a chance for him to do so but this news is unfortunate for sure.
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Per Nowak — who I referred to above — the Saints should expect anywhere from a two-game to a four-game suspension for Harris. We’ll keep you updated as more trickles in from this story.