Who Should I Start? Kendrick Bourne or Braxton Berrios

Saturday, February 22, 12:03 PM

The Athletic's Chad Graff suggests that it could be time for the New England Patriots to move on from wide receiver Kendrick Bourne this offseason, even if he's their top player at their biggest position of need. Bourne missed the start of the 2024 season while recovering from a torn right ACL and caught only 28 passes on 38 targets for 305 yards and one touchdown in 12 games (nine starts) once he returned. With a new coaching regime in town, the Patriots could move on from Bourne, who will be heading into his age-30 season in 2025. New England would save $4.9 million in salary cap space if they cut him before June 1 or $6.3 million if they cut him with a post-June 1 designation. Bourne is under contract with the Patriots through the 2026 season, but it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see this rebuilding organization go in another direction as they completely rebuild their receiving corps.

Monday, March 10, 5:02 PM

Former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Braxton Berrios (knee) agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal with the Houston Texans on Monday, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal was negotiated by agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. Berrios heads to the AFC South division after suffering a torn left ACL in Week 7 of last year. When the 29-year-old pass-catcher is back to full health, he figures to give the Texans additional receiver depth behind Nico Collins and Christian Kirk (collarbone) with Tank Dell (knee) potentially missing all of the 2025 season. At best, though, Berrios will likely be limited in his playing time as a role player on offense while mostly contributing as a kick returner on special teams. The former sixth-round pick by the New England Patriots in 2018 out of the University of Miami had his best season in 2021 with the Jets, catching 46 of 65 passes for 431 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games (one start).