Contract Terms
WR Kendrick Bourne is re-signing with the New England Patriots on a three-year, $19.5 million deal worth up to $33 million, his agent, Henry Organ of Disruptive Sports, informed multiple news outlets. A source told ESPN that the contract includes a signing bonus of $4.2 million.
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Fantasy Football Impact
As ESPN.com's Mike Reiss reminded readers, Bourne is recovering from a torn right ACL sustained in a loss to the Miami Dolphins. Before the injury, he was on his way to a career year, totaling 37 receptions for 406 yards and four touchdowns in eight games.
The 6-1, 205-pound Bourne enters his eighth NFL season, having spent the first four years of his career with the San Francisco 49ers and the past three in New England.
Bourne, who signed a three-year contract with the Patriots in 2021, has 264 receptions for 3,409 yards and 21 touchdowns in his career.
There are questions.
First and foremost, the knee injury. Bourne was hurt in Week 8 but said he will complete rehab before training camp.
Beyond that, if it wasn't already clear enough, the Patriots dealing Mac Jones to the Jaguars earlier Sunday all but ensures a new quarterback of the future is coming in New England. In addition, Jerod Mayo replaces Bill Belichick as head coach, and Alex Van Pelt takes over for Bill O'Brien as offensive coordinator, bringing in a new scheme that must be installed.
All of this is to say that until we gain clarity on a range of issues, Bourne's chances of moving from outlier status -- his current WR99 showing on the Footballguys Best Ball Rankings is right in line with Bourne's WR103 Average Draft Position (ADP) on Underdog and his WR98 ADP on BestBall 10s -- are minimal.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
The Patriots entered free agency with nearly $100 million in salary cap space and a goal of re-signing some key players, including Bourne. They previously re-signed tight end Hunter Henry to a three-year deal worth up to $30 million. Trading Jones all but ensures the team will be looking at quarterbacks with the third pick overall in April's draft. They could also add a veteran (Jacoby Brissett has been mentioned as a possibility here) to compete with Bailey Zappe and potentially provide a bridge while they develop a rookie.
Whatever the case, assigning fantasy values to any of the Patriot's current fantasy prospects will be a challenge. Although Demario Douglas opened as a respectable WR58 on the initial Footballguys 2024 Draft Rankings, the next wideouts on that list are DeVante Parker, who sits at WR89, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, currently WR94. Tyquan Thornton is listed as WR145. Perhaps one or more will rise as we gain clarity on the open issues here. However, investing in the Patriots' passing attack is a crapshoot for now.
Stock Watch
Risers
Fallers
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Overview
WR Kendrick Bourne is re-signing with New England on a three-year, $19.5 million deal worth up to $33 million. The team has plans for Bourne, who was having a productive 2023 season until it was cut short by a torn ACL suffered on Oct. 29. While Bourne's recovery is on track, the many open questions for New England's offense leave him as an outlier in ongoing fantasy drafts and expecting him to emerge as draft worthy before the season starts is a reach.
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