The transaction ledger isn't the only place where the New England Patriots are making gains this offseason, if a video from Kendrick Bourne is any indication.
With dreams of landing Calvin Ridley proving to be delusion, those sticking around in the Patriots' receiving room are back in the gym. Bourne was more than happy to share his physical progress alongside that of embattled fellow catcher Tyquan Thornton, who looked more imposing than the last time Patriots viewers saw him.
"Proud of this dude! Y'all don’t even know!" Bourne declared on his Instagram story (h/t Sophie Weller of AtoZSports). "We locked in!"
With the Patriots apparently missing out on the premier talents available on the veteran aerial ledgers, pressure will be on Thornton to live up to his own sizable billing. The Baylor alum was the 50th overall pick of the 2022 draft, chosen in favor of George Pickens, Alec Pierce, and Trey McBride, all of whom went within the immediate next five selections.
Injuries have eaten away at the early stages of Thornton's career and it's not like he's burning up the statsheets when he's on the field, earning only 338 receiving yards in 22 appearances to date (including only 91 last year). Bourne, however, has remained supportive of his young teammate and offered a positive update during a discussion with Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. The veteran, who just re-upped with Foxborough's finest, mentioned that getting bulkier was one of Thornton's offseason goals, one that he's more than willing to help him meet.
“He’s just eating, lifting weights. He’s trying to get to 200 lbs and build his durability,” Bourne said. “He was lifting before he came in here and just came in looking really big and I was like, bro, this tells me that you are locked in and you want something out of this year. Just proud of that guy and the progress he’s made so far.”
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