Who Should I Start? Kendrick Bourne or Marquise Brown

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 25, 2:20 PM

The Kansas City Chiefs made re-signing wide receiver Marquise Brown a priority this offseason, according to ESPN's Adam Teicher. "Hollywood" was limited to just two regular-season games in 2024 after signing a one-year deal with the team due to a preseason shoulder injury that landed him on long-term Injured Reserve. In two regular-season games and three playoff games, Brown caught 14 passes for 141 yards on 28 targets. Despite his limited action, the team saw enough to continue to believe in him heading into 2025. "Not everyone told me how much he can actually do on the football field and you could see it," quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. "He can run those over-the-middle routes. He can run really good routes and he can run deep. It's not like fast is the only thing that he can do." Brown could be a major factor in Kansas City's passing game to begin the season as Rashee Rice works his way back from a major knee injury and Travis Kelce continues to potentially decline.