Patriots Daily: Bourne Talks Return; Vrabel Too Large to Coach?

Kendrick Bourne was the New England Patriots leading receiver when his 2023 season ended in Week 8. Bourne tore his right ACL, requiring surgery. At the time, his anticipated recovery was estimated to be 6-to-8 months, which would have him ready to go by the end of June.

The timing was particularly poor for both Kendrick Bourne and the Patriots. He was on pace for 79 receptions, 863 yards, and nine touchdowns when he was injured. All of those numbers would have been career highs. Bourne was also set to hit free agency following the season, so the injury likely cost him a lucrative deal as well.

When asked by Tom E. Curran if he had unfinished business in Foxboro, Kendrick Bourne didn’t hesitate, replaying “absolutely.”

Bourne went on to talk about how New England has been a good fit for him.

“It’s an environment that works for me, that helps me become a better person, better player. So I would love to keep that going. I felt like I was becoming the best player that I’ve ever been in my career (before the injury).”

So, while there is a deep wide receiver in the 2024 NFL Draft and some blue-chip free agents, the possibility of Kendrick Bourne coming back to New England seems very real…at least if he gets to choose.

Why Didn’t Mike Vrabel Land a Head Coaching Job?

While most of the talk in these parts has been on Bill Belichick missing out on a head coaching job this offseason, another Patriots legend also got shut out in the NFL hiring cycle. Mike Vrabel, who had coached the Tennessee Titans the past seven seasons, failed to land a job as well.

Part of the explanation has been that the NFL is moving toward a more positive and relationship-based approach among coaches. This leaves “old school” coaches like Belichick and Vrabel to be antiquated to the current generation of players. But Dianna Russini of The Athletic explained there could be another more bizarre explanation as well.

“I had a GM at the Senior Bowl who mentioned to me Vrabel’s physical build. That he’s a very large human being. And can be very intimidating to people in an organization that are going to be part of these decisions. And that is a factor.”

The idea of Vrabel being built like an NFL football player disqualifying him from being an NFL football coach is…something.

Dianna Russini asked about Mike Vrabel on The Athletic Football Show:

"I don't think there was a fit for him. I don't think he sat in front of any owner who thought that his style was going to work for what they were looking for…I had a GM at the Senior Bowl who mentioned…

— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) February 5, 2024

Also in today’s Patriots Daily…

New England Patriots

Patriots Football Now – Meet the newest New England Patriot: Kawaan Baker

Patriots Football Now – Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski show support for Bill Belichick

New England Patriots Staff

Patriots Football Now – Ben McAdoo joins New England’s coaching staff

Patriots Football Now – Concerns for special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer

NFL Draft

Patriots Football Now – Patriots Rumors: Wolf might want offensive tackle at three

Patriots Football Now – NFL Mock Draft 2.0

NFL News

NFL.com – Chase Young grateful for Super Bowl opportunity after in-season trade

Pro Football Network – How Patrick Mahomes contract is a huge advantage for the Chiefs

Yardbarker –Former Jets QB names potential Robert Saleh replacement

ESPN – What 15 Super Bowl stars were like in high school

Boston Bruins

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Football Fun Fact of the Day

Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford turns 36 today. He is one of seven players in NFL history to be both the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and the starting quarterback for the winning Super Bowl team.

The others are Terry Bradshaw, Jim Plunkett, John Elway, Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, and Eli Manning.

Tweet of the Day

Tweet of the Day comes from BrycenNFL, who seems concerned with the Patriots’ draft strategy…

The Patriots are leaving their GM duties to us. Sad https://t.co/vdF6IBHaCi

— BrycenNFL 👑 (@BrycenNFL) February 6, 2024