Why is Kendrick Bourne struggling? NFL insider provides insight

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Albert Breer breaks down why Kendrick Bourne could be struggling with the Patriots new offense. He mentions that Bourne playing for Kyle Shanahan and Josh McDaniels could cause him to have a lack of faith in the offense.

New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne didn't have a productive training camp or preseason, so it's fair to wonder how much of an impact (if any) he'll have when the team plays the rival Miami Dolphins on the road Sunday to begin the NFL regular season.

Bourne was kicked out of the first joint practice with the Carolina Panthers for his role in a fight between the two teams. He saw his role decreased in the second joint practice with the Panthers and he didn't catch a single pass in the preseason matchup between those teams a few days later.

The veteran wideout tallied two receptions in the Patriots' loss to the Raiders in the preseason finale two weeks ago.

Bourne caught just 14 passes from quarterback Mac Jones in camp, per Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal. The only wideouts with fewer were Tyquan Thornton and Tre Nixon.

What's going on with Bourne? Could it be that he's not totally on board with some of the changes the Patriots have made to their offense over the offseason?

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer provided some insight Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Zolak & Bertrand" show.

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"I think he was one of the primary 'what the hell is this?' guys from the spring and summer," Breer said. "My feeling on it was he was one of the guys who was sort of questioning the plan and questioning what was going on there. I had said before -- some of the questioning of what they're doing offensively was internal, and I certainly think that that was the case with him. Has he gotten over it? I'm not sure.

"But you can see -- if you look at who (Bourne) was coached by, why he would be one of the guys who would say, 'What is this?' Because he played for Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and Josh McDaniels his first year in New England. So if there's somebody who might be qualified to say, like, or might feel like he's entitled to a certain level of coaching at this level of football, it would be a guy on that side of the ball who played for Kyle Shanahan and Josh McDaniels."

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Patriots wide receivers coach Troy Brown didn't mince words when asked about Bourne earlier this week.

"Obviously, he hasn’t had the type of offseason that he had last year, but he’s been working at it just like everybody else,” Brown told reporters Monday in a video conference. "... As we go into the first game here, he’s getting more and more reps. We’re going to play the guys who deserve to play."

Bourne not being totally bought into the team's new offense would be a problem, to say the least. He had a productive first season in New England, tallying career highs with 55 receptions and 800 receiving yards, along with five touchdowns in 2021. He even looked like the Patriots' best wide receiver at times.

The Patriots do have pretty good depth at wide receiver, especially after trading for DeVante Parker. But for this offense to fire on all cylinders, it needs Bourne to be bought in and productive.

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