The best thing Marvin Harrison Jr.could get out of his first NFL game is that he played his first NFL game.
Beyond that? “It wasn’t great,” the wide receiver said Wednesday after practice.
“It wasn’t what I wanted to happen,” Harrison said. “It wasn’t what the team wanted to happen.”
Harrison acknowledged some frustration after his one-catch-for-four-yards debut, but it was in the context of letting his teammates down in what turned out as a 34-28 loss to the Bills in Buffalo. Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said Tuesday it was up to him and the playcalling to unlock Harrison, and quarterback Kyler Murray said Wednesday it’s “no secret” the Cardinals want and need to get their rookie wideout the ball.
“That’s why they brought me here,” Harrison said. “I’ve got to get open and catch the ball.”
The one-game sample size is far short of what’s needed to draw conclusions. Harrison was unfazed as he sat as his locker speaking about his first game, noting he just wants to move on and that there are still 16 games to play.
“Nothing changes,” Murray said. “We have the utmost confidence in what we’re capable of.
“I’ll never lose confidence in Marv.”
To ignore his learning curve isn’t fair either. The live action of the regular season is different in the NFL than college or training camp. It’s even different than the preseason, although Harrison and Murray didn’t not get any reps then.
The wideout admitted he was thinking a lot when he played, which inevitably slowed his play. Harrison said he probably would’ve liked to get more preseason reps but said “you have to respect (Jonathan Gannon’s) call” to keep his players healthy and not expose them to injury in preseason games.
If Harrison was down about his first game, however, he wasn’t showing it. Instead, he smiled through every answer.
“I don’t think we’re in a bad place right now at all,” Harrison said.
