The Patriots have consistently struggled to put together a solid wide receiver room for several years, making it all the more shocking that the roster could now be considered overcrowded in 2024. Although the talent might not be the most desirable, and there's certainly an argument to be made that they lack a true WR1, they have enough middle-of-the-road players to force them to healthy scratch one for the past few weeks.
That has mostly been the fate of K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton, with one week of rookie Javon Baker watching from the sideline. And while that remained true on Sunday against the Bears, with Thornton inactive, the addition of essentially bench Kendrick Bourne made little to no sense.
The veteran receiver took a few weeks to finally contribute upon his return to the field after recovering from an ACL tear suffered late last season. His best game came last week against the Titans, while far from impressive, Bourne recorded four receptions for 41 yards.
Given that Drake Maye has struggled with his receivers this season, stripping him of a player he clearly had chemistry with left fans scratching their heads, even more so seeing Osborn given the starting nod over Bourne. Jerod Mayo's explanation for it all didn't help much, either.
Benching the most consistent contributor on offense wasn't a wise decision by the Patriots
Although Bourne hasn't been his typical self this season, he has proven to be a productive member of the offense since he signed with the team in 2021. Not only that but he could be considered one of the best teammates on the roster, with an infectious optimistic attitude and always ready to celebrate his teammates' successes.
That is something Mayo stressed when asked about the decision to bench Bourne, but his justification of it all didn't sit well with fans.
“I’ll say this: even though Bourne didn’t play today, he was the first one smiling when I came into the locker room. I’ve always appreciated that — just his energy and his excitement.
“It’s the same thing with K.J. and the rest of those guys; when they’re inactive, it’s the excitement for their teammates. We talk about ‘abundance versus scarcity’ and having the mindset of abundance where we can all eat. If you have that scarcity mindset, you don’t want your teammate to do well because there’s only a certain amount of the pie. I’ll say the mindset of this team is that if we go out there, there are enough plays for all of us.”
Obviously, recognizing that they have a crowded wide receiver room is vital for Mayo to stress to the team and have the players understand they all won't be having 100+ receiving yard days. It also makes sense that they want to focus on building up the younger player's experience and confidence by giving them the start over some more seasoned veterans.
However, Bourne has been a champion of the new regime all season long and incredibly supportive of his teammates, even sharing those feelings publicly. Yet they chose to have Osborn on the field all game long instead, who has taken to social media to air his grievances with the team.
The entire situation makes little sense, and hopefully, it's just a one-off thing, and we'll see Bourne back on the field next week. That seems more needed after Osborn's lackluster day as the solo veteran getting the snaps.