Source: Patriots release Kendrick Bourne after failed trade talks

Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed, Boston Herald on Aug 27, 2025

Published in Football

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The Patriots cut wide receiver Kendrick Bourne on Wednesday after Bourne wanted a fresh start, a source told the Boston Herald.

The Patriots parted ways after engaging in trade talks that would have sent Bourne to the Vikings, according to a source. Minnesota instead acquired Carolina wide receiver Adam Thielen after several days of reported touch-and-go talks with the Panthers that ended with a deal Wednesday morning.

According to a source, Bourne expected to head to Minnesota for a late-round pick after being approached Tuesday afternoon about taking a potential pay cut in New England. It’s unclear whether the Patriots’ requested pay cut was designed to help facilitate a deal or keep him on the roster. Bourne declined.

Trade talks between the Vikings and Patriots were also complicated by a foot sprain Bourne suffered during a training camp practice on Aug. 1, and the information the team provided about his recovery. Bourne made the Patriots’ initial 53-man roster on Tuesday instead of being placed on injured reserve, which seemed to reflect his return to health after almost four weeks of being sidelined. According to a source, Bourne expected to practice Wednesday.

The 30-year-old wide receiver had been with the Patriots since 2021, when he signed as a free agent after spending the first four years of his career in San Francisco. Bourne signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract extension in March 2024 after tearing his ACL six months earlier. Upon returning to the active roster midway through the 2024 season, he finished with 28 catches, 305 yards and one touchdown.

Despite putting his ACL recovery behind him and spending most of his offseason in New England, Bourne did not show significant improvement in training camp this summer. He regularly repped with the second-team offense and caught just two passes from Drake Maye in team drills, the latter of which led to his foot sprain. Before Tuesday’s roster cuts, Bourne sat squarely on the roster bubble.

There was some optimism Bourne would bounce back under returned offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. In 2021, McDaniels oversaw a career year for Bourne, who caught a personal-best 55 passes for 800 yards and five touchdowns. Since then, Bourne has failed to top 500 yards in a single season and often found himself on the trade block while playing for three offensive coordinators in as many years.

Earlier this week, the Pats cut veteran safety Marcus Epps after he requested his release, according to the Herald’s Doug Kyed. Epps also finished camp on the roster bubble.

On Wednesday, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel seemed to deny reports that Bourne and Epps asked to be cut, but reiterated his primary stance that he didn’t want to divulge any details.

“Yeah, that’s news to me,” Vrabel said. “I mean, I think that we just, again, try to put the roster together. I guess when it doesn’t work out, you break up with somebody, your girlfriend doesn’t want to be with you, and then you say, ‘Well, I don’t want to be with you either.’ I’m not going to get into all that.”

Vrabel later added: “I just said I’m not going to get into it. It was just like — you know what I mean? We’re not going to go back and forth here. We’re trying to build a roster. You’ve got to move on from some guys. You make connections with guys, you coach them, they earn opportunities, they get more opportunities, they take advantage of them and that’s kind of how these things go.”

Patriots tight end Hunter Henry, who arrived in New England with Bourne in 2021, said Wednesday he hadn’t fully digested the news of Bourne’s release. Henry found out shortly before the team took to the practice fields early in the afternoon.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is coming in together and going through a lot together, and seeing him come back from an injury, seeing the adversity,” Henry said. “I got to know him and his family, too. It’s hard. I don’t know if I’ve fully processed it yet, but he was just a guy I always enjoyed coming to work with.”

Bourne’s release leaves the Patriots with Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and rookies Kyle Williams and Efton Chism in their wide receiver room.

The team also released second-year wideout Javon Baker on Wednesday.