New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne has struggled in his second training camp with the team. However, quarterback Mac Jones still has faith in him with camp coming to a close.
Bourne has had a difficult couple of weeks. He was ejected from a practice last Tuesday with the Carolina Panthers, and he also wasn’t available for last week’s preseason game on Friday.
It’s an intriguing turn of events, given that the wide receiver was a big part of New England’s offense last year. He caught 55 passes for 800 yards and five touchdowns last season. He was a frequent target of Jones, who praised the wide receiver on “Merloni, Fauria & Mego” Tuesday, as transcribed by Zack Cox of NESN.com.
“I love Kendrick, and he’s working hard,” said Jones. “The plays will come. Even last year during camp a little bit, he was trying to learn everything and find his role, and he didn’t get as many balls. Then the season came and he got a lot of throws. So you never know when your time is going to come.
“You’ve just got to keep working, line up right and do your route, and eventually, they’ll come. You can’t chase plays, like I always say.”
New England’s depth at the wide receiver position has taken a hit in recent days with the injury to rookie second-round draft pick Tyquan Thornton. Bourne could get a fair amount of targets, as long as he can rebound from his current slump.
