Kendrick Bourne was one of the New England Patriots’ top wide receivers last season. He played just two offensive snaps in their Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran provided insight into Bourne’s severely diminished usage on WEEI’s Gresh and Keefe. He believes coach Matt Patricia has placed the 27-year-old in his “dog house” based on disagreements over his role.
Furthermore, Bourne showed up “just a smidge late” for a meeting before their preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.
The Boston Herald‘s Andrew Callahan added that the team sent Bourne home after his pre-game tardiness on Aug. 19. He said Bourne’s gripe is with his targets, not the coaches.
Although he lined up just twice, Bourne made New England’s biggest play when securing a 41-yard grab from Mac Jones. Despite his drastically limited activity, only Jakobi Meyers finished with more receiving yards than Bourne in the 20-7 loss.
Perhaps that’s why, as Curran stated, Bourne’s lack of involvement “caught the eye” of owner Robert Kraft. Curran would thus be “surprised” if his role doesn’t change going forward.
After four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Bourne collected a career-high 800 receiving yards for the Patriots last season. He secured 55 of 70 targets and led all New England wide receivers with 385 yards after the catch.
The Patriots added more competition to the group, but none of them made much of an impact in Week 1. Rookie Tyquan Thornton is out with a clavicle injury, and DeVante Parker caught one of two targets for nine yards despite playing every offensive snap against his former team.
Let’s see if Bourne receives more opportunities in a tough Week 2 road matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.