Who Should I Start? Kendrick Bourne or Michael Gallup

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.

Thursday, March 20, 1:39 PM

The Washington Commanders announced on Thursday that they signed free-agent wide receiver Michael Gallup to an undisclosed deal. Gallup was drafted in the third round (81st overall) by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 out of Colorado State and spent the first six years of his NFL career in Dallas before signing last offseason with the Las Vegas Raiders. The 29-year-old announced his retirement before ever playing in a game with Vegas before deciding he wanted to come back in 2025. He'll now return to the NFC East, where he'll serve as receiving depth behind Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel Sr. and Noah Brown, at the very least. It's a poor landing spot for Gallup potentially returning to fantasy relevance, as he'll also be competing with Luke McCaffrey and K.J. Osborn for playing time. Fantasy managers can probably avoid Gallup in drafts this fall.