New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne is taking his benching last week against the Chicago Bears in stride.
This has been part of an up-and-down season for the wide receiver, who is still working his way back from the torn ACL injury he suffered last season. He has tallied eight catches for 70 yards so far on the year.
He was forced to set aside his own competitive nature for the younger players to get more snaps last week, reportedly. He recently shared his thoughts on getting benched.
“If something’s coming up, there’s something there, and I have to look at it openly. I could lie to myself and be, ‘I played great!’ But they might not think like that,” Bourne said, via Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. “So, just applying myself, what I see and evaluate myself honestly, so I could be better. I didn’t think it was that crazy bad, but I definitely could be better, and I’m looking at it like that.”
Bourne was thought to be a key piece of the Patriots’ wide receivers room moving forward. That might still be the case considering the team plans on playing him in Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Time will tell if his snap count mirrors the heavier load he was getting before being benched or if he remains limited in any way.
