FOXBORO — Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne was a popular guy around cutdown day.
The Patriots received calls from wide receiver-needy teams interested in acquiring Bourne in a trade, a source confirmed a report from The Athletic. The Patriots turned them down, and Bourne is happy to stick in New England.
“I appreciate Bill (Belichick),” Bourne said Wednesday in the Patriots’ locker room. “Bill stuck with me. I struggled last year personally, and he’s always pushing me to be better. It’s always about getting better. And I feel like Bill encourages me every day. And I appreciate that personally because he could’ve been like, ‘whatever,’ but he’s always pushing me. And this year I wanna go my hardest I’ve ever gone. It feels good to be wanted, but I’m glad to be here and this is where I’m supposed to be. And that’s what’s happened.”
The Patriots kept six wide receivers on their initial 53-man roster in Bourne, JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Tyquan Thornton and rookies Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte. They showed interest in All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins when he was a free agent but were beat out by the Titans’ offer. It’s possible that Bourne would have been moved if Hopkins came aboard.
But Bourne is happy with the Patriots’ wide receiver room, and he believes the unit could wind up proving doubters wrong.
“I think we’re going to be a group that is going to shock a lot of people,” Bourne said. “I think it’s good to be underdogs.”
The Patriots ranked 26th in Bill Barnwell’s team wide receiver, tight end, running back rankings for 2023 on ESPN. That was before the team added veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott.
“I think we’re doing good,” Bourne said. “There’s always room to grow, and that’s how we have to think every day, not thinking we’re there, not thinking we’re somebody we’re not. Just growing every day, practicing and evaluating ourselves every day honestly. But I think we’re in a great place but always can get better and need that mindset of how we can be great instead of just good.”
Thornton is set to go on injured reserve, where he’ll miss four weeks with a shoulder injury. The Patriots also have rookie Thyrick Pitts on their practice squad.