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The New England Patriots continued to make moves to slim down their roster ahead of the 80-player cutdown that is required by teams before Tuesday.
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New England cut ties with tight end Dalton Keene who struggled to get acclimated to the NFL and will now get a fresh start. The 23-year-old was selected by the Patriots in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Keene struggled with injuries and only played in six games in his entire career. The tight end caught three passes for 16 yards. Keene missed the entire 2021 season while on injured reserve.
Who Remains at Tight End?
The Patriots seem to be all set at the tight end position. With Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, Devin Asiasi, Matt Sokol, and Jalen Wydermyer.
Henry is coming off a great 2021 season where he led the Patriots in receiving touchdowns (9). The tight end also had 50 receptions for 603 yards.
Smith on the other hand didn’t get his Patriots career off to a great start. The tight end only had 28 receptions for 294 yards and a touchdown.
After that, there is a large drop-off as Asiasi has also struggled since being drafted in 2020 while Sokol and Wydermyer will find it difficult to make the final roster.
Patriots Training Camp Update: Kendrick Bourne Travels for Joint Practices
This week the Patriots and the Las Vegas Raiders will hold joint practices. This comes a week after New England hosted the Carolina Panthers in what was viewed as a disaster due to the number of fights that broke out between the two sides. The Patriots also lost Kristian Wilkerson to injury as a questionable hit left him with a concussion.
Bourne was one of the many players who ended up getting kicked out of practice due to fighting. The wide receiver threw punches during last Tuesday’s session.
Then the situation intensified as Bourne practiced with the second stringers and did not dress for New England’s week two preseason game against the Panthers on Friday. When asked about his absence, Bill Belichick simply said that Bourne wasn’t available.
But Bourne traveled with the team to Las Vegas for joint practices and will have an opportunity to get back in Belichick’s good graces. The Patriots group of wide receivers suffered a blow as Tyquan Thornton will miss a majority of the season due to a collarbone injury.
While Bourne’s spot on the roster appeared to be in question, Thornton’s injury will make it difficult to move on from Bourne.
Bourne is coming off a breakout season in New England. He led receivers in touchdowns (5) and also had 55 receptions for 800 yards.
The joint practices with the Raiders will prove to be a major test for the team and Bourne. It will be a major challenge against a talented team that is also familiar with how the Patriots operate. For Bourne, it will be a chance for him to start getting on track before the start of the regular season.