Tag: Kendrick Bourne

Report: Patriots have been in contact with pending free agent WR Kendrick Bourne

The Patriots have reportedly been in contract with pending free agent WR Kendrick Bourne

The New England Patriots have reportedly been in contact with wide receiver Kendrick Bourne about a possible extension, per the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.

Bourne recorded 37 catches for 406 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. However, he had a difficult end to his season when suffering a torn ACL against the Miami Dolphins in October.

By and large, he has been a productive receiver for the Patriots during his career. He struggled in 2022, after bursting onto the scene for New England in 2021. He tallied 55 catches for 800 yards and five touchdowns in his first year with the team and was thought to be a premier wide receiver target.

Now, New England could be looking to re-sign him, as Callahan elaborated on during an episode of the “Pats Interference Football Podcast”.

“The team has already been in contact with Kendrick Bourne, I can tell you that. I don’t know the likelihood of him staying,” said Callahan. “You would think, you know, maybe they lean a little bit more towards those linebackers, because it does sound like, according to MassLive, Jerod (Mayo) will have input on the roster.”

Bourne would certainly be a veteran presence on a team that is undergoing a ton of turnover. Nevertheless, the organization will have to make a lot of decisions on which players to keep and which players to let go throughout the course of the offseason

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18 pending free agents for Patriots heading into offseason

18 pending Patriots free agents heading into the offseason

The New England Patriots head into an offseason of uncertainty with a slew of pending free agents.

Of course, the first order of business is making a decision on whether Bill Belichick stays, goes or has his powers stripped as the de facto general manager for the team.

Then the Patriots can begin to attack the who stays and who goes questions.

Whoever takes over the personnel decisions will have a tough run right out of the gates with key free agents likely requiring big contracts to keep employed. Players like offensive guard/swing tackle Mike Onwenu and safety Kyle Dugger won’t be returning for cheap.

And that’s only scratching the surface. Here are 18 pending free agents for the Patriots heading into the offseason:

10 free agents the Lions should target this offseason

From guards to cornerbacks, there are plenty of free agents for the Lions to consider this offseason

The NFL season is a long journey full of ups and downs, moments of triumph, and moments of despair for a franchise and its fans. If anything that Lions fans and the team know change is certain. The current staff and front office have shown they will be active in the offseason and they need to continue to be despite their record this year.

Week 18 showed that the secondary needs work, the pass rush needs more depth, and the receiver needs size. These are just a few of the positions and situations they need to address this offseason.

The list of looming free agents for the NFL and the Lions is glaring. Tough decisions will need to be made, some have yet to be made with players who have contracts beyond this year. The talent pool is deep and for now, here are ten that Lions fans should hope the franchise goes after.

Podcast: Predicting which Patriots top free agents stay and go in 2024

Who’s staying and who’s leaving the Patriots at the end of the season?

When it comes to the New England Patriots, there has been so much talk surrounding the 2024 NFL draft that free agency is seemingly being overshadowed.

Not only will the Patriots enter free agency as one of the team’s with the most cap space, but they’ll also have one of the most extensive pending free agent lists in the NFL. Key players, such as Kyle Dugger, Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne, Trent Brown, Mike Onwenu and Ezekiel Elliott might all be playing elsewhere in 2024.

Ryan O’Leary and I discuss the possibilities, as well as predict if these players stay and go, in this week’s episode of the Patriots Wire Podcast.

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We want to hear from you. Please let us know your thoughts and opinions on the topics covered in this week’s show. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Who should the Patriots bring back in 2024? What players should they let go? And what Patriots-related storyline are you most interested in heading into the offseason?

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Leading receiver hoping to re-sign with Patriots in 2024

WR Kendrick Bourne hopes to be brought back by the Patriots in 2024

Kendrick Bourne is set to be a free agent in 2024, and he is hoping he hasn’t played his last snap with the New England Patriots.

Before suffering a season-ending knee injury, Bourne was the Patriots’ leading receiver. In only eight games, he had 37 receptions for 406 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, a torn ACL brought an end to what could have been a career-high year of production from Bourne.

Rookie sixth-round draft pick Demario Douglas has stepped up to help fill the void in his absence. The two teammates recently had an exchange that was caught Instagram, which started with Douglas telling Bourne that he missed him.

“Miss ya dog! Make the Patriots bring me back!” Bourne responded.

It would make sense for the Patriots to bring back a solid veteran option like Bourne. JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker have both underwhelmed this season. Granted, both receivers have made strides with Bailey Zappe under center at quarterback.

So perhaps they could be viewed differently when Mac Jones isn’t throwing them the ball. The Patriots could also be in the market for a legitimate No. 1 option at receiver to help take the top off opposing defenses.

But even with potential changes at the position, Bourne is the kind of player any team could benefit from having both on the field and in the locker room.

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Twitter reacts to Steve Smith forgetting which Patriots receivers were playing

Steve Smith thinks JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne need to show up, but neither are playing for the Patriots.

The New England Patriots have a revolving door of receivers, and at this point, it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with who’s on the field and who’s not.

Just ask NFL Network’s Steve Smith, who completely forgot JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kendrick Bourne were not playing in Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos.

During the pregame segment, Smith mentioned both as players he needed to see show up for the Patriots in the game, but Bourne has been on injured reserve since the team’s Week 8 loss to the Miami Dolphins, when he tore his ACL.

And Smith-Schuster has been out for back-to-back weeks with an ankle injury. The Patriots are down to DeVante Parker, Demario Douglas, Jalen Reagor and Tyquan Thornton as their top receiving options at Mile High.

Here’s some of the best Twitter reactions to the segment:

Ranking 15 best pending free agent wide receivers in 2024

Who are the 15 best pending free agent wide receivers in 2024, and could the Patriots be in play for any of them?

It’s no secret that the New England Patriots will be in the market for a serious upgrade at wide receiver in the offseason.

The team likely finishing the season in position to land a top-three pick in the 2024 NFL draft means they’ll be in position to take Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., if they wanted to go down that path.

That decision would likely anger the masses because it could mean another year of Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe under center at quarterback.

The best option for an immediate upgrade for New England at receiver would be addressing the problem in free agency. There are a plethora of playmakers that would improve the Patriots’ dire situation significantly.

The team is expected to have the money to spend to get whoever they want to finally help put the offense over the top. Here are the top-15 wide receivers expected to hit the open market in 2024:

Patriots Wire Podcast: Why did Patriots stand pat at trade deadline?

This week on the Patriots Wire Podcast, we discuss the Patriots standing pat at the trade deadline, who steps up at wide receiver and preview the Patriots-Commanders game on Sunday.

The disappointment from a seemingly lost season continued for the New England Patriots in Week 8 with the team getting trampled at South Beach by the Miami Dolphins.

Those feelings were exacerbated by coach Bill Belichick opting not to sell the team before the trade deadline. Hope for a turnaround season quickly devolved into fans wanting to sell tradeable pieces for future draft picks to rebuild the roster.

But the trade deadline came and went without so much as a whisper from Belichick and the Patriots.

This week on the Patriots Wire Podcast, Ryan O’Leary and I discuss the fallout from Bill Belichick standing pat at the deadline, and we also preview the upcoming Week 9 matchup between the Patriots and Washington Commanders.

There’s some delving into the wide receiver situation as well with Kendrick Bourne out for the season with a torn ACL and DeVante Parker in concussion protocol.

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We’d love to hear from you. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments sections. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Did the Patriots make a mistake by not selling at the trade deadline? Who needs to step up the most at receiver? Will the team bounce back on Sunday against the Commanders?

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10 highest-graded players for Patriots offense vs Dolphins, per PFF

PFF’s top-10 offensive players for the Patriots in loss to the Dolphins

It was back to reality for the New England Patriots’ sputtering offense in their Week 8 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The pass protection up front was iffy at best, the run game never got going, receivers couldn’t get open and quarterback Mac Jones turned the ball over.

Rinse, wash and repeat.

No offensive player outside of tight end Pharaoh Brown was given over a 70.0 grade by Pro Football Focus. It didn’t help matters that two of the team’s top receivers, DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne, both went down with injuries.

Bourne, who led the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns, will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, while Parker is in concussion protocol. Those injuries create even bigger questions for the Patriots moving forward this season.

Let’s take a look at the top-10 highest-graded offensive players for New England, per PFF, in the loss to the Dolphins.

Patriots officially place leading receiver Kendrick Bourne on injured reserve

The Patriots announced WR Kendrick Bourne is being placed on IR.

The New England Patriots officially announced wide receiver Kendrick Bourne has been placed on injured reserve.

On Monday, an MRI revealed Bourne tore his ACL in the Week 8 game against the Miami Dolphins. There was hope that it was just an MCL injury, but it ended up being a worst case scenario for the Patriots.

Bourne currently leads the team with 37 receptions for 406 yards and four touchdowns. After a down year, he had emerged as quarterback Mac Jones’ favorite receiving target.

The timing is tough considering Bourne was playing on an expiring contract with a chance to play himself into a lucrative extension with the Patriots or elsewhere.

Instead, he’ll be shifting focus to rehabbing his injury in hopes of returning to the field as soon as possible. Bourne has made a living off proving people wrong since he arrived in the NFL as an undrafted free agent.

Only a fool would count him out now.

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