Who Should I Start? Kendrick Bourne or George Pickens

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.

Tuesday, March 4, 6:07 PM

One of the Pittsburgh Steelers' top priorities this offseason will be adding a wide receiver, and Penn Live's Nick Farabaugh writes that a new receiver is expected to complement George Pickens instead of replacing him. Sources have talked down the idea of the Steelers trading Pickens despite his maturity issues in 2024. Pittsburgh will exhaust every avenue once again as they look to add a receiver, with sources pointing to the trade market as a likely avenue. However, the team doesn't play to make any moves at the position until they know who will be starting at quarterback. If the Denver Broncos' talks on a long-term extension with receiver Courtland Sutton break down, the Steelers will be aggressive in trying to trade for him. Farabaugh also expects the Steelers to circle back to Darius Slayton and Christian Kirk, two wideouts that the team was interested in at last year's trade deadline.