Tag: Kendrick Bourne

Report: Patriots re-signing leading WR Kendrick Bourne on three-year deal

Kendrick Bourne is staying put in New England

The New England Patriots are reportedly re-signing wide receiver Kendrick Bourne on a three-year, $19.5 million deal, per the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.

Before going down with a torn ACL, Bourne led the Patriots’ struggling receiving corps with 37 catches for 406 yards and four touchdowns.

When appearing on NFL Total Access last week, he said he expects to be well enough to participate in training camp and ultimately be on the field by Week 1 of the 2024 regular season.

The Patriots are hard at work in an effort to retool their offensive roster. They re-signed tight end Hunter Henry, and they’re reportedly expected to “swing big” for Jacksonville Jaguars free agent wide receiver Calvin Ridley. The team will likely also be aggressive in the draft in search of explosive receiver talent.

Keeping Bourne is a good start to weaponizing an offense that’s in the middle of a significant makeover.

Kendrick Bourne shares update on ongoing contract talks with Patriots

Patriots fans will like this update from Kendrick Bourne

Kendrick Bourne is still negotiating a possible return with the New England Patriots, and although a deal has yet to come to fruition, the standout wide receiver had some positive news when appearing on NFL Total Access on Thursday.

On Monday, the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan reported the Patriots had offered Bourne a new contract. Bourne, who is coming off a torn ACL from last season, is clearly mulling things over and considering his options ahead of free agency.

“It’s going well so far. We’ll see how far it goes but just negotiating and how it goes, we’ll see,” said Bourne, via the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Bourne is expecting to be a full participant in training camp and ready to go by Week 1 of the regular season.

Aside from the Matt Patricia-run offense in 2022, Bourne has been the Patriots’ most productive receiver on the field. For a team lacking in offensive playmakers, they’ll obviously be making a strong push to re-sign the best one on their roster.

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Report: Patriots offer Kendrick Bourne new deal, but other teams could show interest

The Patriots have reportedly made a contract offer to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne

The New England Patriots have offered wide receiver Kendrick Bourne a new contract, per a report from the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan.

If the Patriots do not re-sign Bourne, there are several teams in the mix for the veteran wide receiver. The Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams and New York Jets could all be teams in a position to land him, per Callahan.

Bourne is coming off a season that ended prematurely after he suffered a torn ACL. The wide receiver tallied 37 catches for 460 yards and four touchdowns in eight games.

Bourne has had an interesting career with New England. He struggled in 2022, after not seeing the field often under former offensive play-caller Matt Patricia. He truly showcased his skills in the 2021 season, when he tallied 55 catches for 800 yards and five touchdowns. He developed a strong rapport with quarterback Mac Jones that year.

New England has several free agent decisions to make this off-season, but Bourne is one of the more notable names. This free agency is certainly going to be something worth monitoring to see who stays and who goes for the Patriots.

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Top 12 remaining free-agent wide receivers

Tee Higgins and Mike Evans are now off the table. So, who’s left?

Sorry, Carolina Panthers fans. There will probably be no Tee Higgins and definitely no Mike Evans in your team’s immediate future.

But that doesn’t mean they still can’t sign a worthwhile wideout next week.

Here are the top 12 remaining receivers who are slated to hit free agency:

Projected market value for Patriots’ top pending free agents

The Patriots have multiple in-house free agents they might want to re-sign. Here’s what it could cost them.

Big decisions loom on the horizon for the New England Patriots heading into free agency.

They’re sitting pretty right now with roughly over $100 million in available salary cap space, but they are also a team bogged down with various holes and upgrade needs on their roster.

Free agency isn’t just about paying big money to load up on outside talent. It’s also about keeping the talent you already have to ensure some continuity. Not everything was bad with the 4-13 Patriots, and this isn’t a situation where the organization is looking to throw the entire team away.

There were pieces that stood out as potential parts of an eventual solution in New England. and it now falls on Patriots executive Eliot Wolf and the front office to figure out ways to keep those pieces intact.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at the Patriots’ top free agents and their projected market values, according to PFF.com and Spotrac.com.

Report: Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne expected to test free agent market

Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne is reportedly expected to hit the open market

Don’t expect the New England Patriots and Kendrick Bourne to strike up a contract extension before free agency, according to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson. The Patriots’ veteran wide receiver is expected to test the free agent market, after missing over half the 2023 season with a torn ACL.

Bourne has expressed publicly about his desires to stay in New England, but one has to wonder what his contract situation looks like right now as a 28-year-old receiver coming off such a significant injury.

He clearly appeared to be heading towards a breakout season with 37 catches for 406 yards and four touchdowns in the first eight games of the season. But his season was ultimately cut short in Week 8 at Miami.

“Don’t expect a new deal at this time for #Patriots and pending free agent wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, per league sources, as he is currently expected to test the market where strong interest is expected,” Wilson posted on the platform X. “Full recovery expected from knee injury for first game of season with steady progress already happening.”

Keep in mind, just because the two sides aren’t expected to reach a deal before the start of free agency doesn’t mean Bourne is out in New England. This could simply be a matter of him testing the market and coming back to the Patriots to give them a chance to match his best offer.

Bourne was one of the few productive receivers on the Patriots’ struggling roster. Even with the knee injury, he’s expected to be ready by the regular season opener to contribute.

It’s surreal to think his comeback game could potentially be elsewhere and not in New England.

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6 under-the-radar free agents Saints could target

6 under-the-radar free agents the New Orleans Saints could target on offense and defense:

The New Orleans Saints will have largely the same roster next year as they did last season, but will need to look around for some role players to replace those that are on the way out.

The Saints likely won’t be in on the big name targets such as defensive linemen Chris Jones, Justin Madubike or Josh Allen but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t options at more available price points.

Last year, they signed players like veteran safeties Jonathan Abram and Ugo Amadi that flew under the radar during free agency, but ended up making a bit of an impact and will likely stick around for another year.

Here are some under-the-radar options in this free agency class at some positions of need:

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent wide receivers

You may want to bookmark this one, Panthers fans.

We know that Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young can’t do it alone. So, the newly-constructed braintrust needs to find him some help—and that search could start on the open market.

Here are the top 12 free-agent wide receivers for the 2024 offseason:

 

WR Kendrick Bourne shares thoughts on Patriots’ No. 3 draft pick

Kendrick Bourne doesn’t think the Patriots should trade down in the draft

New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne already named his top quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft. Now, he’s sharing his opinion on what the Patriots should do with the No. 3 overall pick.

Some mock drafts have the Patriots trading down and accumulating more draft picks, instead of taking one of the top-three quarterbacks. However, if Bourne had it his way, the team would stay put and take the best available player.

“Ah, don’t do it,” Bourne said during an interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran, when asked if the Patriots should trade down from No. 3.

Bourne, who is a pending free agent for the Patriots, hopes to stick around in New England and bounce back strong after going down with a torn ACL during the season. Before the injury, he tallied 37 catches for 460 yards and four touchdowns.

The Patriots trading down would certainly be an interesting move, given that the team needs help at the quarterback position. That being said, the Patriots need help at multiple positions.

So trading down would not be out of the realm of possibility.

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Kendrick Bourne on Mac Jones, void left by Devin McCourty’s departure and more

Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne spoke about Mac Jones’ tough season in New England, the void left by Devin McCourty and more

On a Radio Row jam-packed with legendary NFL players, both past and present, Kendrick Bourne also garnered some of the spotlight with candid and insightful comments about the Patriots, the team he has competed for since 2021

The 28-year-old, who also played four seasons with the 49ers, sat down with USA TODAY’s Christian D’Andrea to speak about all things New England Patriots.  

Bourne, a pending free agent who is currently rehabbing and progressing “ahead of schedule,” agreed with D’Andrea when asked if Mac Jones was “done dirty.” 

“I think it was just more the environment for him and not gelling with the OC or the head coach,” said Bourne. 

Still, Bourne thinks Jones will remain a Patriot – maybe as a backup if New England drafts a QB, or even as a starter.

“I think he’s too valuable (to lose),” said Bourne. 

Bourne made sure to leave no doubt that he remains a member of “Team Mac, for sure.”  

Within their conversation, the receiver who has 21 career receiving TDs, also spoke about the huge void left by the departure of Devin McCourty, where he sees Bill Belichick in 2025, and his thoughts on new Pats coach Jerod Mayo, who he anticipates will be a players coach.  

Check out the full interview at the top of the page.