Getty New England Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne
The New England Patriots may have shut out the Detroit Lions, but it wasn’t a pleasant day for all members of the Patriots organization.
New England’s offense was able to put up 29 points with Bailey Zappe under center. The rookie quarterback threw for 188 yards per Pro Football Reference but Kendrick Bourne was far from his favorite target. Bourne only had one reception for a single yard.
After the game, Bourne posted several photos to his Instagram and spoke about his poor performance.
“When you do nothing in the group project and get an A,” the caption read.
How Does Bill Belichick Feel About Bourne’s Performance?
While Bourne might be laughing, Belichick wasn’t during the Lions game. After Bourne committed a penalty, cameras caught a heated exchange between the wide receiver and the Patriots head coach.
While appearing on WEEI, Belichick was asked about the scuffle and took the opportunity to praise Bourne.
“I love KB,” Belichick said. “He’s very passionate about the game, his performance, the team. Works hard and has helped and will help us. Great to have him on the field because he’s an explosive player, and he’s one of our key guys in our passing game. We’re always working to try to improve, do things better and nobody works harder at it than KB. He always practices hard, works hard in practice and I don’t think that will change. That’s just who he is, he loves football and competes well.”
Bourne hasn’t been used as much as he had been in 2021. At his greatest usage this season (Week 6), Bourne has only appeared in 57 percent of New England’s offensive snaps. Before that, he had failed to appear in half of the Patriots offensive snaps so far this season.
So while Belichick loves the wide receiver, that love doesn’t translate to how often Bourne has been used on offense this season.
Patriots Owner Addresses Healthcare Inequity
Robert Kraft made headlines after donating $50 million to Massachusetts General Hospital, which is reportedly the largest donation from an owner of a sports team specifically to address racial disparity in the healthcare system.
“If this was a disease for white people, I think the cure would have been found already,” Kraft said in an interview with Front Office Sports. “I think it falls to people like myself to try to do what we can to help.”