WIDE RECEIVER - IS BOURNE HEALTHY?

[mgteich]

It doesn't seem that Bourne is expected to be a key piece. When is he expected to be back anywhere close to be 100%. Even if we don't sign a top receiver, it seems that he will be our #4, barring injuries.

We signed Osborne (1 year)
We drafted Polk (4 years)
We drafted Baker (4 years)
We are desperately trying to trade for a top WR with a new contract (3-4 years)
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I presume that we expect to keep Douglas long term (3 years)
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Add Bourne and we'll have 6, after signing a top WR and 5 next year, although I expect that we will extend or upgrade Osborne next year)
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CONCLUSION
Everyone asked for a rebuild of the passing offense. Well, it's been accomplished, all except the signing of one or two high-priced WR's. Arguably, we can be competitive without a top receiver or two, but we will have the cap money this year and next to sign one or two (or trade for them).

 

[Joey007]

So did they just give him that contract to be a mentor or what?

 

[archstanton543]

I DON'T KNOW. YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL ABOUT IT.

 

[Bill Lee]

So did they just give him that contract to be a mentor or what?

Call Atlanta and ask, they're the experts on paying a guy then drafting his replacement in the same off season.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Not sure how it is now but i know wr’s haven’t really been themselves the first year back from an acl. Welker in 2010 was okay and then he exploded in 2011

 

[mgteich]

So did they just give him that contract to be a mentor or what?

That's an interesting idea. There were no guarantees when we extended him, other than the rest stunk other than Douglas. Also, he really wanted to stay. Perhaps, he will be the stability in the WR room, a mentor, and a sometime receiver.

 

[jmt57]

We are desperately trying to trade for a top WR with a new contract (3-4 years)


No, the Patriots are not "desperately trying to trade for a top WR".

Perhaps they were at one point, but that ship has sailed.
Any potential trade partner would have wanted a Day Two draft pick that they could have used yesterday.
At this point I see no reason for trading an early 2025 pick for a WR either.

 

[TheRainMaker]

They are not relying on Bourne when he isn’t an X WR to begin with. He’s not an outside guy and Douglas is their new slot guy - where Bourne did his damage in SF and NE 2021.

Thornton on the other hand, has a clean slate, but the Pats drafted two guys that may take snaps from him.

 

[TommyD4207]

We are desperately trying to trade for a top WR with a new contract (3-4 years)


No, the Patriots are not "desperately trying to trade for a top WR".

Perhaps they were at one point, but that ship has sailed.
Any potential trade partner would have wanted a Day Two draft pick that they could have used yesterday.
At this point I see no reason for trading an early 2025 pick for a WR either.

They tried. They were so close.

 

[mgteich]

We are desperately trying to trade for a top WR with a new contract (3-4 years)


No, the Patriots are not "desperately trying to trade for a top WR".

Perhaps they were at one point, but that ship has sailed.
Any potential trade partner would have wanted a Day Two draft pick that they could have used yesterday.
At this point I see no reason for trading an early 2025 pick for a WR either.

I am fine to wait until the 2025 off-season to add a top WR. We'll know better what we have by then. We'll know how our then current 5 fit together and who would help most. In essence, we would be replacing Osborne who is on a 1-year contract.

WIDE RECEIVERS (5)
Osborne or new top WR, Polk, Baker, Douglas, Bourne looks fine to me. I presume that Bourne will come back healthy enough to keep as the #5 WR.

 

[bresna]

I get that he had a ****ty year and that he may be gone before camp, but JuJu has not been cut yet and he has a lot of dead money if they do. I would think that the Patriots are going to give him one more year to see if last year was a blip due to his knee/ankle problems. I would think that he will be in the WR rotation in some way.

 

[AQPE]

I agree with the premise regarding Bourne. I consider the first four below locks and as of right now think Reagor is ahead of Bourne and Juju due to his KR utility.

Douglas
Polk
Baker
Osborne
Reagor (KR)

Of the rest, Bourne has done best with the Pats but they’re in a new offense and I’m not sure what Bourne does much better than those first four guys. Juju has had the better overall career and cutting or trading him I think has the biggest cap hit.

I think Thornton and Boutee make it to camp but it’s hard to imagine either making it to the season. I’m not sure about anyone else.

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

Bourne is not only healthy but set to be the leader of the wr room.

Clearly to start off the new regime the Patriots have emphasized character. That's why Bourne got the contract. He's overly positive, selfless, energetic and has won over the locker room.

He's got a lot of ball left and a critical role in rebuilding the locker room for a year or 2.

 

[Love The Drake]

I want to see Bourne with a real QB.

 

[Toofy]

I get that he had a ****ty year and that he may be gone before camp, but JuJu has not been cut yet and he has a lot of dead money if they do. I would think that the Patriots are going to give him one more year to see if last year was a blip due to his knee/ankle problems. I would think that he will be in the WR rotation in some way.

It's sunk cost at this point. JuJu is not going to be in team in 2025. Why waste these snaps. Better too give it to the younger guys.

Best case scenario juju goes on IR start of season, we play with 5 + reagor. We have 1 injury around 6th or 7th Gane. Juju comes in.

If not, I see a trade with chiefs for juju where we eat the most cap space and flip 6th and 7th rounder.

 

[stinkypete]

Bourne and Douglas are the starters until the one of kids steps up and beats them out for the job.

Off the two rookies, I see Polk stepping in and being an immediate contributor.

I think we'll see less of Baker in 2024, but the team hopes they can groom him to take over the X position come 2025.

Osborn seems like a bit of a redundancy after this draft, but he's solid veteran depth who can fill in for the roles of Bourne, Douglas or Polk. I think he will be fine this year, but he seems like the guy most likely to be upgraded next offseason.

Reagor has increased value with the new kickoff rules so he should stick around.

Thornton and Boutte are camp fodder at this point. They don't belong on an NFL roster, and we can finally say that we have a full WR room of players who are better than them. JuJu carries the stink of 2023 on him and should have been shown the door months ago. I am fine taking the dead cap space and cutting his ass.

I assume at this point that any attempts to acquire a big name wideout this offseason are over. I am ok with this group. I think the floor has been raised significantly, though the ceiling remains low. As of today the WR room is missing a piece, but I am ok with the team taking a year to see if Baker can be THE guy. If not, there will be plenty of cash and a bumper crop of big names available.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

My guess would be that start of the regular season it will be Bourne/Osborn/Douglas/Polk as the 4 active WRs to start the year. Baker will be the 5th WR but gameday inactive unless he brings STs value. Maybe a guy like Reagor makes the team as a 6th WR (but the 5th gameday active spot for special teams). Maybe Thornton shows enough to hang on as a 6th WR. Hard to think Juju would be worth keeping as a gameday inactive type.

If the young guys (Douglas, Polk, Baker, to a lesser extent Thornton) are sooooooooo impressive that a guy like Osborn or Bourne is pushed down to the 5th or 6th spot on the depth chart, then they probably trade one of them at the end of camp. Osborn easier to trade, and it'd be a good thing to get forced into if it's because the young guys stepped up so much.

It's definitely a crowded room with a bunch of guys who forecast best as 2s and 3s type of receivers. It's going to make it somewhat difficult to establish a true depth chart, and as a rebuilding team you'd rather lean into playing the young guys over the vets if it's close. So it's definitely going to be a bit of a weird situation to navigate.

 

[EMpats]

I love Bourne and Osborn seems like a nice veteran piece but for a rebuilding team, my opinion is the starting trio on week 1 should be Baker, Polk and Douglas with Thornton mixed in.

This doesn’t mean they give you the best chance to win, but if Maye is sitting at the beginning of the year, it’s the perfect time to get those guys feet wet and see what you have so they can hit the ground running when Maye takes over.

If any of them don’t work out, at least you know before Maye is playing.