Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Feels good after first practice
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Bourne noted Thursday that he "feels good" and that his knee has responded well to his return to practice, Evan Lazar of the Patriots' official site reports.
Per Lazar, Bourne, who was limited in his return to practice Wednesday, is on a snap count for the time being. The wideout remains on the reserve/PUP list, and it's unclear at this stage if he'll be activated ahead of Sunday's contest against the Dolphins. Once Bourne returns to the mix, however, he'll have a chance to reclaim a key role in a New England WR corps currently led by DeMario Douglas, Ja'Lynn Polk and K.J. Osborn (shoulder).
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Returning to practice
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Bourne (knee) is slated to practice Wednesday, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.
Bourne, who remains on the PUP list, will thus have his 21-day practice window opened up as the Patriots kick off Week 5 prep. In terms of the wideout's availability for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, head coach Jerod Mayo said that the possibility of Bourne playing this weekend isn't unrealistic, Mark Daniels of MassLive.com reports. Bourne is nearing the finish line of his recovery from a torn ACL in his right knee, an injury he sustained last October.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Making progress
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Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said Monday that Bourne (knee) continues to progress toward making his season debut, though the receiver is without a clear timeline to be activated from the reserve/PUP list, Khari Thompson of The Boston Globe reports. "Yeah, he's making great progress. He's running fast. He looks good in his routes. When he's ready to be out there, he'll be out there," Mayo said of Bourne.
Bourne will miss at least one more contest while he continues his recovery from the torn ACL he suffered last October, but it's possible that he could return to practice after the Patriots' Sept. 29 game against the 49ers. Once he's back up to speed, the 29-year-old should reclaim a key role in the team's receiving corps, which has been led by DeMario Douglas, K.J. Osborn and Ja'Lynn Polk through the first three weeks of the season.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Opening season on PUP list
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Bourne (knee) is starting the regular season on the PUP list, making him ineligible to play until at least Week 5, Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports.
Bourne meets the same fate as most of the other players that suffered ACL tears last season, unable to make good on his winter optimism that he'd be ready for Week 1. He tore his ACL in Week 8 last year, finishing with a 37-406-4 line on 55 targets and a career-high 50.8 receiving yards per game. There's no guarantee Bourne gets that kind of opportunity once he's ready to play this season, as the Patriots have young wide receivers Ja'Lynn Polk, DeMario Douglas and Javon Baker vying for targets with veterans K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton. It's far from a formidable WR room, but there's at least more depth than the team had last season. Bourne has been on the PUP list all summer, unable to practice with his teammates.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Still on PUP list
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Bourne (knee) remains on the active/PUP list ahead of the Patriots' Aug. 25 preseason finale, Jacob Rousseau and Bill Kochof the Providence Journal report.
It remains to be seen when Bourne -- who is bouncing back from a torn right ACL that he suffered last October -- will be able to resume practicing, but as Week 1 approaches, it becomes increasingly plausible that the veteran wideout could start the coming campaign on the PUP list. With the Patriots guided by a new coaching staff and transitioning at the quarterback and wide receiver positions, we suspect that the team will err on the side of caution with Bourne out of the gate this season. If he does end up out or limited early on, added opportunities would be available for some combination of DeMario Douglas, Ja'Lynn Polk, K.J. Osborn, Javon Baker, Tyquan Thornton, Kayshon Boutteand Jalen Reagor.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Opens camp on PUP list
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Bourne (knee) will open training camp on the active/PUP list, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.
Bourne is bouncing back from a torn right ACL that he suffered last October, so it's not especially surprising that he isn't quite ready to practice as training camp opens. Previous reports relayed that Bourne anticipated being ready for Week 1 action, but while he's unavailable, DeMario Douglas, Ja'Lynn Polk, K.J. Osborn, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Javon Baker, Jalen Reagor and Tyquan Thornton are slated to compete for slotting in the Patriots' re-tooled WR corps.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Sitting out OTAs
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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.
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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: 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.
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: 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: 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.
