Patriots might have moved on from fan-favorite to get DeAndre Hopkins

If DeAndre Hopkins signed with the Patriots, another receiver reportedly might have been on the way out

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The New England Patriots were reportedly in the sweepstakes to acquire wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. However, New England may have had to give up a fan favorite in order to get the wide receiver.

A new report indicates the Patriots might have moved on from wide receiver Kendrick Bourne in order to make room for Hopkins, via the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.

Bourne played sparingly in the 2022 season. He tallied 35 receptions for 434 yards and a touchdown. He started to be a bit more involved in the offense later in the season, but the Patriots were out of the playoff picture by then.

Kyed recently appeared on the “Pats Interference Football Podcast” and noted that Bourne probably would have been the odd man out.

“From what I was hearing, there was a good possibility that Bourne was probably going to be on his way out, if Hopkins was on his way in,” said Kyed. “Paying Hopkins, [DeVante] Parker, [JuJu] Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne, all having cap hits in the $5 million-plus range, probably didn’t make a lot of sense when you’ve got Tyquan Thornton on the team and you’ve got the two rookies [Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte].”

It’s certainly interesting to think about how that would’ve impacted the wide receiver room.

Quarterback Mac Jones and Bourne developed a bit of a rapport in 2021. The addition of Hopkins would have given the Patriots a top-tier receiver, which is something they have been missing for quite a while. But now, Jones can move forward with Bourne and the offense in its current state with the Hopkins speculation officially in the rearview.

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