Who Should I Start? Kendrick Bourne or Dante Pettis

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, January 6, 2:27 AM

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Dante Pettis caught two of his six targets for 16 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 27-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pettis was the only Saint to find the end zone in the season finale with the rest of New Orleans' points provided by the leg of kicker Blake Grupe. Pettis was signed to the Saints practice squad partway through the season and was added to the active roster in December to accommodate for the team's lack of depth at wide receiver. Over the course of the season, Rashid Shaheed (knee) and Bub Means (ankle) were lost to season-ending injuries and Chris Olave (concussion) missed a total of nine games after suffering two separate concussions. Pettis will finish the season with 10 receptions for 120 yards in his limited role.