Mac Jones Issues Challenge To Patriots Wideouts After Kendrick Bourne Injury

FOXBORO, Mass. — Who will replace Kendrick Bourne in the Patriots’ offense? Depends on who earns it.

That’s the message quarterback Mac Jones sent Wednesday when asked how New England will account for the loss of Bourne, who led the team in all three receiving categories before tearing his ACL this past Sunday.

“I think this week of practice will be really good to see who wants it,” Jones said before the Patriots’ first Week 9 practice. “Who wants to go out there and compete and who wants to pay attention to the details and work to get on the same page, the spacing, the depth, the splits and all that stuff.

“As a quarterback, that’s what I’m going to focus on is helping them understand how important that is for me to have success, and that ultimately gives them success. We’re definitely talking through that, and there’s plenty of guys that we have –young guys, guys like JuJu (Smith-Schuster). There’s all sorts of guys, so I’m looking forward to just practicing and ironing out the details.”

With veteran DeVante Parker also unlikely to play this week as he recovers from a concussion, Jones will be left with a bare-bones collection of wideouts for Sunday’s matchup with the Washington Commanders.

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Smith-Schuster is an experienced option who put up strong numbers with Pittsburgh and Kansas City, but he’s been a complete nonfactor since signing with New England back in March. The 26-year-old ranks 187th in the NFL in receiving yards (89) and third-to-last among qualified wideouts in yards per catch (5.9). The Patriots clearly did not want to play him in last week’s loss to Miami, only doing so after Parker and Bourne both were knocked out of the game.

The Patriots also have recent draft picks Tyquan Thornton (second round, 2022) and Kayshon Boutte (sixth, 2023), who both were healthy scratches against the Dolphins.

Thornton has been another major disappointment since his arrival last season, catching two passes for 8 yards in two games since his return from injured reserve. Boutte has not seen the field since the season opener, which featured a few costly mistakes by the LSU product. The Patriots chose to sit both last Sunday in favor of newly promoted practice squadder Jalen Reagor, who has one catch for 11 yards in 70 snaps this season.

Practice squad quarterback/receiver Malik Cunningham is another depth option.

Sixth-round slot receiver Demario Douglas — one of New England’s few offensive bright spots — is enjoying an impressive rookie season and should see even more snaps and targets in the wake of Bourne’s injury. But he’ll now need to deal with defenses specifically game-planning to stop him, which Miami already began doing last week.

“I want to be able to give him the ball as much as I can,” Jones said of Douglas, who set career highs in targets (seven), catches (five for 25 yards) and snap rate (77%) against the Dolphins.

Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien also pointed out Tuesday that Douglas and Bourne play different positions in New England’s offense, so replacing the latter won’t be as simple as giving more reps to the former. O’Brien also stressed the competition element when asked about Bourne’s injury.

“KB brought a lot of energy, a lot of juice to this offense and really attacked every day,” the coach said in a video conference. “… He’s a great guy and was having a really good year, and the next guy has to step up and fill that role. And it’ll probably be several guys. I don’t know who those guys will be right now.

“It comes down to the practice field. It really does. How do you practice? Are you ready to go? By the time Saturday, Sunday rolls around, then Bill (Belichick) will determine who’s active for the game. That’s really how it is. So it’s a big week for the receivers.”

All together, the Patriots’ non-Bourne wideouts have totaled just 488 receiving yards this season. Twenty-two individual NFL pass-catchers have more through eight weeks, including Tennessee’s DeAndre Hopkins, whom New England hosted for a visit this summer but did not sign.

Still, Smith-Schuster, the lone veteran wideout at practice Wednesday, touted the potential of this largely unproven group.

“We just have a lot of guys with so much energy, so much time to play,” he said. “These guys are just ready. Today in practice, not having (Bourne and Parker) out there and having these guys step up, it shows. It shows.”