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As San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk rumors stir, New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne makes his case to reunite with his former teammate.
“I want [Brandon] Aiyuk,” Bourne told Boston.com on April 20.
“He’s my guy, and I think he’ll fit in. Just being a one-on-one receiver at X,” Bourne added. He can take a whole half of the field and dominate and create a lot of attention for himself. That’s big in our offense, the X receiver?”
Bourne played with Aiyuk for the 49ers in 2020 before the Patriots signed him to a three-year, $15 million deal in 2021. Now, Aiyuk seeks a bigger contract instead of his $14.12 million fifth-year option with the 49ers.
New England could serve as a trade partner for Aiyuk. The Patriots have $38.77 million in salary cap space and can easily afford Aiyuk.
“I know him pretty well. We had a good relationship when he first came in as a rookie,” Bourne told Boston.com about Aiyuk. “I was in year three, I believe. I kind of was just teaching him the ins and outs in the beginning when we worked out together in the offseason.”
“We got along pretty well. I’ve posted a couple things, we’ve got handshakes and stuff. So, we’ve always been pretty connected and have gelled naturally,” Bourne added.
Aiyuk has been a natural in the 49ers offense over four seasons — especially the past two with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He had 75 catches for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns last year plus 78 receptions for 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022.
Kendrick Bourne Lobbied for Brandon Aiyuk Before
It’s not the first time Bourne lobbied for Aiyuk to join the Patriots. Bourne posted “let’s get em” and “you getting all the targets u want” on X, formerly Twitter, after Aiyuk’s rumored trade request on April 14.
Aiyuk’s agent, Ryan Williams, shot down the trade request rumor. However, the 49ers haven’t reached a deal with Aiyuk before the draft.
If the 49ers traded Aiyuk to New England, the 49ers would likely only get the Patriots’ No. 34 pick in the second round and possibly the team’s third-round pick at No. 68. Stefon Diggs, the biggest-name receiver traded this offseason, only went for a 2025 second-round pick to the Houston Texans.
Kendrick Bourne Liked Brandon Aiyuk’s Skill From Day 1
Bourne, an undrafted free agent in 2017, liked what he saw in Aiyuk right away with the 49ers. At that point, Bourne had a growing role with the 49ers where he had 49 catches for 667 yards and two touchdowns the season before in 2019.
“Yesssir … he’s gonna be apart of why we get back to the Super Bowl,” Bourne wrote in 2020 with photos of himself in Aiyuk that he shared.
San Francisco didn’t get back to the Super Bowl in the COVID-stricken season, and a reunion between Bourne and Aiyuk likely won’t reap greater results. New England remains in the middle of a massive rebuild.
Even if Aiyuk became the Patriots’ top receiver, the team has a vast array of roster holes to fill. That includes quarterback when the Patriots could get a high-caliber rookie in the draft but start Jacoby Brissett as a bridge quarterback for the time being.
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