Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Sitting out OTAs

Coach Jerod Mayo said Monday that Bourne (knee) will not participate in OTAs, Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports.

Bourne is working his way back from a right ACL tear that forced him to miss the final nine games of the 2023 campaign, and while he said back in March that he expects to be a "full go" for training camp, it looks like spring activities would be too early a benchmark. That will cost Bourne an early chance to build chemistry with new quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye, but as long as he's indeed able to get on the practice field for training camp, there shouldn't be real concerns about his availability for Week 1. Bourne re-signed with the Patriots on a three-year, $33 million contract this offseason, though it only contains $5.5 million guaranteed at signing with a $19.5 million base value.