Kendrick Bourne Could Be Expendable

If the New England Patriots end up signing free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, one line of thinking is that it could mean another receiver will be let go, with Kendrick Bourne an oft-mentioned possibility. However, the team is being cautious with JuJu Smith-Schuster after a knee injury knocked him out of the AFC Championship game by keeping him off the field this spring. Tyquan Thornton is also managing a soft-tissue injury he picked up in organized team activities, so thinning the team's receiver ranks might not be a risk worth taking. Either way, Bourne's stock heading into the 2023 season has taken a hit after regressing with 35 catches for 434 yards and just one TD in 16 games in 2022.