The Washington Football Team made somewhat of a surprising decision on Sunday morning, as the team announced that it had released wide receiver Kelvin Harmon. It was a corresponding move, as free-agent addition Curtis Samuel was also activated from the PUP list and practiced on Sunday. Cornerback Chris Miller and running back Lamar Miller were also released by Washington.
Harmon was selected by Washington in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of North Carolina State. While he caught just 30 passes for 365 yards during his rookie campaign, Harmon made several highlight-reel catches in the preseason and regular season that excited fans. However, he tore his ACL last year and missed the entire 2020 season. JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington reported that Harmon had been getting almost exclusively third-team work in camp, and he caught one pass for seven yards in Washington's first preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday.
Washington head coach Ron Rivera was asked if Harmon's previous injury had anything to do with his release, but Rivera said that they just had too much talent at the position.
"It speaks to the depth of the room," Rivera said on Sunday. "It's a very good room, and Kelvin is going to get opportunities. But we have a very good room right now and some of the decisions we made today were based on giving the guys an opportunity out there right now."
Harmon will certainly not be the last receiver Washington is forced to part ways with this offseason. What was once seen as a subpar unit now has plenty of talent, as Washington acquired Samuel and Adam Humphries in free agency and also drafted Dyami Brown and Dax Milne this offseason. They joined a wide receiving corps which already included Terry McLaurin, Steven Sims Jr., Cam Sims, Antonio Gandy-Golden, Isaiah Wright, Tony Brown and DeAndre Carter.
