Did Patriots Mishandle Release of Veteran WR?

FOXBOROUGH, MA. — Have the New England Patriots forfeited their chance to experience a “Bourne Redemption” in 2025?

Had the football fates complied, the Pats and veteran receiver Kendrick Bourne might have been headed toward rebuilding what was once a productive, and mutually-beneficial relationship. Instead, Bourne’s four-year tenure with the Patriots came to an end on Wednesday, after the team granted his asking to be released.

While Bourne’s departure has largely garnered mixed reaction from Pats Nation, the lingering question that seems to unite all who maintain interest in the team surrounds the timing of such action.

In other words, why release Bourne less-than 24 hours after the NFL’s 53-man roster mandate deadline had passed?

On the surface, the answer is quite simple: New England’s efforts to trade Bourne continued beyond Tuesday’s 4:00pm deadline. Ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts, the Patriots had little choice but to acquiesce to his request.

Still, as is generally the case with most deals, there is a bit more here than originally meets the eye.

Despite missing the majority of training camp — in addition to New England’s three-game preseason slate — Bourne was surprisingly included within the team’s initial 53-man roster. However, the 30-year-old had not seen on-field action since leaving the Patriots’ in-stadium practice on Aug. 2 with an lower-leg/foot injury. Perhaps more concerning was the fact that he had yet to catch a pass from starting quarterback Drake Maye during any of his prior practices.

Considering his questionable health, as well as his presumed slide down the depth chart, all signs seemed to indicate that he and the Pats would part ways before the start of the upcoming season.

Yet, NFL Media’s Tom Pellisero reported on Wednesday that Bourne’s injury has full-healed, meaning that he will not require placement on post-deadline injured reserve. As such, any team which signs the Eastern Washington product will be able to insert him into their game plan upon arrival.

From a financial standpoint, Bourne is in the second year of a 3-year, $19.5 million contract with $5.5 million guaranteed. To their credit, the Pats had reportedly inquired as to whether the receiver would be willing to accept a salary cut — a request which he unsurprisingly denied. As a result, New England stands to gain approximately $5.3 million in salary cap savings this season from Bourne’s release, per Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan. Additionally, the Pats will only incur a dead money hit of approximately $1.56 million. . Ironically, their cap savings and dead money obligations would have been identical if Bourne were traded.

In this case, the plot thickens a bit … Did New England make a mistake by leaving even the slightest potential trade capital on the table?