Getty New England Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne
While all the talk surrounding the New England Patriots seems to be involving Mac Jones, Kendrick Bourne‘s role in the offense continues to remain a mystery.
Bourne is coming off the best season of his career in 2021. The wide receiver racked up 55 receptions for 800 yards and 5 touchdowns per Pro Football Reference.
This season things have completely changed. The timeline begins in the second week of the preseason when Bourne was involved in a fight at joint practices with the Carolina Panthers. He went on to receive little playing time in the preseason and this has been the same case so far in the regular season.
In total, this season Bourne has 44 snaps played. This is seventh among Patriots skill players and makes up less than a quarter of New England’s offensive plays. In comparison, Lil’Jordan Humphrey has played in 83 snaps including 50 snaps in Week 3 with Jakobi Meyers out injured.
Amidst the lack of playing time, Bourne posted this to his Instagram on Tuesday.
“Romans 8:31,” Bourne captioned the post. “Never had things handed to me! Always had to earn it! Gotta move forward!
What Has Bourne Told the Media?
After the Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Bourne spoke with NBC Sports Boston and believes that the Patriots’ coaching staff has a plan.
“Yeah, the coaches got the plan,” Bourne said. “I think it works. I can’t say this or that. I’m definitely happy with what I got to do. I would love to play more, but I gotta just keep proving it to the coaches. Game by game. Every time I go in, just making the plays that come so I can try to go out there more.
“They just got different packages,” Bourne added. “Bigger packages here and there. LJ is a bigger guy so they like to confuse the defense. It’s the coaches’ plan, and I gotta just go with the punches.”
Could the Patriots Get a WR Back From Injury?
With Brian Hoyer likely to start in Week 4, the Patriots’ passing game will need all the help they can get. If Jakobi Meyers was able to return, he could help New England in its transition.
Meyers is hoping he can play against the Green Bay Packers.
“I’m out there moving around, running routes,” Meyers said. “Just making sure I can put some good tape in the coaches’ eyes to get the green light (for Sunday).”
The wide receiver said that it was difficult watching the game from the sidelines as he wishes he could have helped the Patriots.
“It was tough, because I feel like I could have helped,” he said. “I’ve got confidence in my guys, but I do feel like I could have helped, just being there for the guys in a better way than just clapping for them on the sideline. It was a little tough.”
If Meyers does return, Bourne could one again be relegated to minimal playing time or maybe Week 4 will finally be the week that he returns to being a key part of New England’s offense.