Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Gets only $5.5 million guaranteed
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The Patriots have minimal commitment to Bourne (knee) beyond the 2024 season, despite re-signing the receiver Wednesday to a three-year contract worth up to $33 million, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe reports.
The deal is loaded with incentives and light on guarantees, with a base value of $19.5 million and only $5.5 million guaranteed at signing. Another $2.5 million becomes guaranteed for 2025 if Bourne reaches 800 receiving yards in 2024, though the Patriots presumably would want to keep him around in that case anyway. The 28-year-old had a career-high 800 receiving yards in 2021, his first season with the Patriots, and he was on pace for 863 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023 until an ACL tear cost him the final nine games. Bourne said in February that his rehab was ahead of schedule, and in early March he added that he expects to be a "full go" for training camp and Week 1. It's not yet clear who he'll be catching passes from or competing for targets with, apart from the likelihood of second-year wideout Demario Douglas and veteran tight end Hunter Henry getting significant playing time.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Re-ups with New England
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Bourne (knee) and the Patriots agreed to terms on a three-year deal worth up to $33 million on Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Before suffering a season-ending torn ACL in Week 8 last season, Bourne was easily the Patriots' best receiver. It wasn't a high bar to clear, but it made too much sense to bring Bourne back after he put up a 37-406-4 line on 55 targets across eight appearances. He was on pace for a career year and will head into his age-29 season later this year. Bourne has already stated he expects to be ready for training camp. Look for the Patriots to further address their wideout depth chart in free agency and the draft.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: To be ready for training camp
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Bourne (knee) expects to be able to do some work in the spring and will be a full go for training camp, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
Bourne is rehabbing from a torn ACL that he suffered in Week 8 of the 2023 season. He was on pace to shatter his personal bests in nearly every statistical category before his campaign was cut short. Bourne is set to become a free agent in the new league year, and he has stated that he would like to rejoin the Patriots and reportedly has an offer from the team.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Ahead of schedule, hopes to re-sign
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Bourne recently said that he's ahead of schedule in his rehab from knee surgery and would like to re-sign with the Patriots this offseason, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.
The 28-year-old suffered an ACL tear to his right knee in Week 8, bringing an early end to a season in which he was averaging career bests of 4.6 catches and 50.8 receiving yards per game. Bourne is now scheduled for unrestricted free agency in March, and while he hopes to stay in New England under a new coaching staff, he acknowledged that he's not actually sure what the future will hold. He has a physical therapist living with him as part of his rehab process after Nov. 15 surgery, hoping to strengthen the quad and leg around his injured knee. Ben Volin of The Boston Globe adds that Bourne is in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl, with the wideout noting Tuesday that his rehab is going well and that he hopes to "get [his] name out there" for potential suitors in free agency.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Should be ready for training camp
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Bourne (knee) underwent surgery to repair his right ACL on Wednesday and is expected to be ready for the start of training camp in the coming offseason, Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports.
Bourne, who landed on injured reserve in late October, will miss the rest of the 2023 campaign but is already on the road to recovery. He tallied a 37-406-4 receiving line on 55 targets across the first eight games of the season, while operating as the Patriots' most productive wideout. The 28-year-old is on track to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, but New England could have incentive to re-sign him, assuming his recovery goes smoothly.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Diagnosed with torn ACL
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Bourne (knee) suffered a torn right ACL during Sunday's loss to the Dolphins, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
Bourne was initially hoped to have escaped with a less serious MCL issue, but his MRI results revealed a season-ending injury. The veteran wideout was in the midst of a promising 2023 campaign, having logged back-to-back games with a touchdown prior to his exit Sunday, and his injury is a brutal loss for New England's already thin wide receiver corps. DeVante Parker (head) also was forced out of Sunday's game, meaning Mac Jones may be working with Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jalen Reagor as his top WR trio Week 9 versus the Commanders.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Injures knee Sunday
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Bourne was forced out of Sunday's game against the Dolphins with a right knee injury and won't return.
Per Zack Cox of NESN.com, Bourne was shaken up after an awkward tackle along the sideline. With both Bourne and DeVante Parker (head) having been ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's contest, Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jalen Reagor are the Patriots' remaining wide receiver options in Week 8. Before his exit, Bourne caught three of his four targets for 36 yards and a touchdown.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Sneaky Sleeper in PPR (Lineup Decisions)
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Bourne lined up wide much more last week, but his role didn't change. That's especially encouraging with JuJu Smith-Schuster potentially coming back and working into the slot more. Bourne should stick in the offense, and the offense should be at least in a competitive matchup and at worst chasing points, which means either way Bourne should see some good target volume. It still feels risky to use Bourne, even as a PPR flex, but he's got a better profile as a top-target earner this week than Michael Thomas, Christian Watson and Jerry Jeudy.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Sleepers (Start/Sit)
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JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) returned to practice Wednesday, so we'll see if he impacts what happens with Bourne heading into Week 8 at Miami. For the past two weeks, Bourne has been the best receiver for the Patriots against the Raiders and Bills with at least 16.3 PPR points in each outing, and he has 18 targets for 16 catches, 152 yards and a touchdown over that span. This is now four games this season where Bourne has at least seven targets, and he's scored at least 16.3 PPR points in three of them. Now, he had nine targets against Miami in Week 2 and finished with just four catches for 29 yards, but I expect him to perform better if he continues to be heavily involved from Mac Jones this week. The Dolphins have also allowed Courtland Sutton (23.1 PPR points), Stefon Diggs (36.0 PPR points), Adam Thielen (28.5 PPR points) and A.J. Brown (29.7 PPR points) to have big games against them in four of the past five games, so hopefully Bourne can do something similar.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Scores first TD since Week 1
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Bourne caught six of seven targets for 63 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 29-25 win over the Bills, and he also lost a fumble.
Bourne's four-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter was his first trip to the end zone since a two-touchdown performance against the Eagles in the season opener. That play put the Patriots up 22-10 with 7:36 remaining, but after Buffalo responded with a touchdown, Bourne made a critical error on New England's next possession, as he lost a fumble to set the Bills up in Patriots territory. Buffalo capitalized on the miscue and scored the go-ahead touchdown, but Bourne's teammates bailed him out by responding with a game-winning touchdown drive. Bourne didn't contribute on the final drive but still finished with team-high totals in targets and receiving yards, affirming his spot as the Patriots' top receiver heading into a Week 8 trip to Miami.
Bourne is a WR3 if JuJu Smith-Schuster and Demario Douglas are out, and a good flex if they return. He has three games this season with nine or more targets, and last week was his second game with at least 19.3 PPR Fantasy points.
Understand that if you start Bourne, you're taking a pretty serious risk because he's never consistently earned targets with the Patriots. But there are so many wide receivers hurt and on bye, so anyone who can deliver 10 PPR points has to be worth a shot. There's nothing safe about starting him, but there's also nothing safe about starting Tutu Atwell, Jahan Dotson, Jameson Williams or Kadarius Toney, so you might as well hope to land a team's top target-earner in Bourne.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Week 7 Waiver Priority List
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Bourne was a go-to option for New England in Week 6 at Las Vegas with 10 catches for 89 yards on 11 targets. This is now the third time this season Bourne has at least nine targets, and the second time he's caught at least six passes and scored at least 19.3 PPR points. He's been wildly inconsistent, but there's been some big rewards if you've started him in three-receiver leagues. The Patriots are tough to trust, and Mac Jones might soon be benched. But Bourne is worth adding in deeper leagues for up to 5 percent of your FAB.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Week 6 Early Waiver Targets (Add/Drop)
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Bourne has seen his playing time rebound over the past couple of weeks, and his production followed Sunday. It wasn't his best Fantasy game of the season – he had 24.4 PPR points in Week 1 – but Sunday might have been his most promising performance of the season. Bourne was targeted 11 times on Mac Jones' 33 passes, catching 10 of them for 89 yards, nearly half the team's total passing yardage. The Patriots offense remains pretty unimpressive, but Bourne has been their only playmaker through the air, and I think he's gotta remain a focal point moving forward.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Team-high yardage total in loss
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Bourne brought in two of five targets for 43 yards in the Patriots' 34-0 loss to the Saints on Sunday.
Bourne's modest receiving yardage total led the Patriots on a completely forgettable day for New England's offense, and he also paced the team in targets. The veteran's fantasy outlook remains dim due to its symbiotic relationship with the team's dismal quarterback situation, but Bourne will have a solid matchup on a paper in a Week 6 road matchup versus the Raiders.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Does little with nine targets
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Bourne had four catches on nine targets for 29 yards in Sunday's 24-17 loss to Miami.
Bourne wound up leading the team in targets, but finished fourth in terms of receiving yardage. The veteran wideout made a valiant effort on one of Mac Jones' few deep pass attempts Sunday, but the ball pulled him out of bounds. The end result was a disappointing follow-up to last week's two-touchdown showing from Bourne. Fantasy managers should expect results somewhere in between his first two games when the Patriots take on the Jets next Sunday.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Week 2 Early Waiver Targets (Add/Drop)
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There were times this offseason when it wasn't sure Bourne was going to have a guaranteed spot on the Patriots roster after he took a big step backwards last season. However, he ended up earning a job and played a massive role in Week 1, emerging as Mac Jones' clear top option. The Patriots were playing without DeVante Parker, which is worth noting, but still, Bourne led the team in targets, catches, and yards, in addition to his two touchdowns. Bourne was a productive, efficient receiver in 2021, but never built on it amid the Patriots overall offensive struggles, so maybe this can be a delayed breakout. I'm skeptical that Bourne can keep this up, but he was impressive enough to warrant a look on waivers.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Two scores in Week 1
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Bourne recorded six receptions on 11 targets for 64 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's 25-20 loss to the Eagles.
Bourne had his path to a significant offensive role cleared with both Tyquan Thornton (shoulder) and DeVante Parker (knee) sidelined for the contest. He commanded 11 targets to lead the team and also hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions from 19 and 11 yards away, respectively. Bourne will face more competition for opportunity at some point this season, but in the short term he could remain the favorite target of Mac Jones.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Could claim key role
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With Tyquan Thornton (shoulder) having been placed on IR, Bourne approaches the coming season in a Patriots wideout corps that also features JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker and rookies Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte.
In that context, Bourne has a chance to claim a key role in New England's passing offense out of the gate, though his target volume could fluctuate as long as his fellow key pass catchers (a group that also includes TEs Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki) remain healthy. Still, after catching 35 passes in 16 games last season, Bourne, who recorded 55 catches in 2021, has an opportunity to see an uptick in production in 2023, and if that happens he could reemerge as a factor in deeper PPR formats.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Three catches Saturday
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Bourne caught three of his four targets for 34 yards during Saturday's preseason contest against the Packers.
Per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, coach Bill Belichick noted of Bourne on Monday that the wideout "had a good spring. That spring led into having a good training camp. He's done very well in all phases -- played multiple spots, caught the ball well, blocked well." As the coming season approaches, Bourne has a chance to claim a key role in a New England WR corps that also features JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton, who missed Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury. From a fantasy perspective though, Bourne's target volume could fluctuate as long as his fellow key pass catchers remain healthy, while working in an offense that could lean heavily on RBs Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott.
