Who Should I Start? Kendrick Bourne or Rome Odunze

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.

Friday, April 18, 4:30 PM

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze didn't have the ideal rookie season. The Bears used the 9th overall pick from last year's draft on Odunze, which came with high expectations. The 22-year-old finished with 54 receptions, 734 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in 17 games (12 starts) with Chicago. It sounds like the Bears believe Odunze can take a big step forward in his second season. Bears assistant head coach Antwaan Randle El is a big believer in Odunze. He recently said he wants to get Odunze the ball in a bunch of different ways. New head coach Ben Johnson is going to bring in a new scheme that should hopefully open up Odunze to do more work than just catching screens. It sounds like the Bears have big plans for Odunze, so dynasty managers should dump him yet.