Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Catches 28 passes this past season
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Bourne finished the 2024 regular season with 28 catches (on 38 targets) for 305 yards and a TD in 12 games.
Bourne, who suffered a torn right ACL in Week 8 of the 2023 season, began the 2024 campaign on the PUP list before being activated ahead of Week 5 action. Not surprisingly, the veteran wideout was eased back into the mix, but even when he started to see an uptick in playing time, his fantasy impact was modest most weeks. Looking ahead, Bourne is under contract with New England through 2026, but as Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston notes, it's possible that the rebuilding Patriots could consider moving on from the 29-year-old pass catcher this offseason.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Two catches in Week 17
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Bourne caught two of his four targets for 22 yards in Saturday's 40-7 loss to the Chargers.
Bourne, who was on the field for 38 of the Patriots' 53 snaps on offense Saturday, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, has caught two passes (for a total of 40 yards) in each of his last two contests. With that in mind, the veteran wideout brings modest fantasy upside into this Sunday's home game against the Bills, who are locked into the AFC's No. 2 playoff seed.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Two catches Sunday
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Bourne caught both of his targets for 18 yards in Sunday's 24-21 loss to the Bills.
Bourne -- who had caught three passes in each of his previous three outings -- was on the field for 51 of the Patriots' 73 snaps on offense Sunday, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. As the team's final two games approach, Bourne carries modest fantasy upside in PPR formats.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Catches three passes Sunday
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Bourne logged 27 of a possible 51 snaps on offense in Sunday's 30-17 loss to the Cardinals, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.
Bourne finished the contest with three catches (including a 37-yarder) for a team-high 44 yards. Since recording a 5-70-1 receiving line in Week 11, Bourne has caught three catches in each of New England's subsequent three games, a rate of production that limits his fantasy utility to deeper PPR formats.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Three catches in Week 13
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Bourne caught all three of his targets for 39 yards and carried once for six yards in Sunday's 25-24 loss to the Colts.
Bourne, who was on the field for 46 of the Patriots' 72 snaps on offense in the contest, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, also had a six-yard TD called back due to a penalty. The veteran wideout should maintain a steady workload following the Patriots' Week 14 bye, but his fantasy utility is limited to deeper formats while operating in a passing offense that has leaned heavily on its tight ends of late.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Best game of season in Week 11
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Bourne caught all five of his targets for 70 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 28-22 loss to the Rams.
Bourne had been quiet since returning from a knee injury that cost him the first four weeks of the season, but he bounced back nicely after going without a catch in two of his previous three games. He set a season high in receiving yards and scored his first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard reception in the first quarter. Given the lack of production from New England's wideouts this season, Bourne could have a tough time building on this breakout effort in Week 12 against a tough Dolphins secondary.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Gets more involved
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Bourne recorded four receptions (on six targets) for 41 yards in Sunday's 20-17 overtime loss to the Titans.
Bourne has slowly seen his snap count tick up since returning from a knee injury Week 5, though his involvement in the offense took its first true leap Sunday. He recorded season-best marks in targets, receptions and yards, while also matching his longest gain of the season with a 14-yard catch late in the second quarter. Bourne missed out on an even bigger day when a 22-yard catch was wiped out by a holding call, but his performances are trending in the right direction.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: No catches in Week 8
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Bourne logged 52 of a possible 67 snaps on offense in Sunday's 25-22 win over the Jets, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.
Though Bourne's snap count was his highest since being activated from the PUP list in advance of Week 5 action, he didn't catch any of his three targets Sunday. Regardless of who starts at QB for the Patriots in Week 9 against the Titans, Bourne isn't an enticing fantasy option after managing just a 4-29-0 receiving line on eight targets through his first four outings this season.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Two catches versus Houston
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Bourne caught both of his targets for nine yards in Sunday's 41-21 loss to the Texans.
Per Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Bourne -- who was activated from the PUP list ahead of Week 5 action -- said last week that it would take a couple of weeks for him to get back to 100 percent as he bounces back from a knee injury, with the wideout's snap count increasing from 16 snaps in his first game back to 34 snaps Sunday. With that in mind, it wouldn't surprise us to see Bourne's playing time continue to rise Week 7 against the Jaguars, but for the time being he's a risky fantasy lineup option.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Active versus Texans
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Bourne (knee) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the Texans.
After being activated from the PUP list ahead of Week 5 action, Bourne made his season debut in the Patriots' loss to the Dolphins last weekend, en route to logging 16 of 60 snaps on offense while catching his lone target for six yards. In his second game back from a major knee injury that he suffered Oct. 29, 2023, Bourne could see an uptick in playing time in QB Drake Maye's first NFL regular-season start. However, until the veteran wideout re-establishes a steady role in New England's offense, he'll continue to profile as a speculative fantasy option.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Questionable for Sunday
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Bourne (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Texans after practicing in a limited fashion this week.
Given that Bourne was on the reserve/PUP list through Week 4 as he bounced back from a knee injury he sustained Oct. 29, 2023, it's not surprising that the Patriots are easing the wideout back into the mix. We'd expect Bourne to be available to face Houston on Sunday, with confirmation of his status set to arrive once New England's inactives are known ahead of the team's 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff. After logging a 27 percent snap share in his season debut versus Miami in Week 5, Bourne could see an uptick in playing time in QB Drake Maye's first NFL regular-season start, but until the veteran pass catcher gets a full and productive game in, he's a speculative fantasy option.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: Limited practice Wednesday
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Bourne (knee) was a limited participant at practice Wednesday.
After being activated from the PUP list Saturday, Bourne made his season debut in the Patriots' Week 5 loss to the Dolphins a day later, playing 16 of 60 snaps on offense while reeling in his lone target for a six-yard receptions. With no reported setbacks with his surgically repaired knee coming out of the game, Bourne's limitations Wednesday are most likely maintenance-related. Assuming that's the case, the wideout should be available against the Texans on Sunday, when he'll likely see his snap share tick up as rookie quarterback Drake Maye makes his first NFL start.
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Patriots' Kendrick Bourne: In line for season debut
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Bourne (knee), who was activated off the reserve/PUP list Saturday, is listed as questionable for Sunday's game but is expected to play, Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald reports.
Bourne was expected to make his season debut Sunday after practicing in limited fashion all week. He'll join a beleaguered Patriots passing attack that has yet to surpass 170 passing yards in any of the four contests this campaign. The veteran receiver quietly had developed into a featured pass catcher last season in a similarly dire passing offense, recording at least two catches in all eight games before going down with a season-ending ACL tear, but it's hard to imagine Bourne significantly turning around a New England offense that ranks dead last in total passing yards in 2024.
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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: 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: 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: 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: 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.
