When the New England Patriots opted against trading away any of their veteran pass catchers, Kendrick Bourne and KJ Osborn, it seemed like Eliot Wolf and company must have had something up their sleeve.
Now sure, the Patriots are going hard on cultivating young talent in 2024, even if some of their players have had more growing pains than others over the first ten weeks of the season. But maybe New England was going to pivot towards giving their vets a bit more run in the hopes of easing Drake Maye’s transition from the NCAA to the NFL.
Well, if that was the plan heading into Week 10, it sure didn’t shake out that way, as Osborn only played 29 of a possible 64 offensive snaps while Bourne didn’t play at all.
What gives? Why didn’t the Patriots lean further on two of their best players, especially in a game against the seventh-ranked passing defense in the NFL? Well, Jerod Mayo was asked that very question after the Pats’ win over the Bears and explained how the decision came together.
“There was a lot that went into that. You know, anytime we put the active roster together, you said it, we thought that that was the best thing to do for us to give us the best chance to win. All those guys bring a certain skill set to the game. We just didn’t know who was going to play more. It just played out that way. But I will say this; even though Bourne didn’t play today, he was the first one smiling when I walked in the locker room, and I’ve always appreciated that, just his energy and excitement. Same thing with (WR) K.J. (Osborn) and the rest of those guys,” Mayo told reporters.
“Sometimes, even when they’re inactive, just the excitement for their teammates. We talk about abundance versus scarcity and having that mindset of abundance where we can all eat versus scarcity, if you have that scarcity mindset, you don’t want your teammate to do well because there’s only a certain amount of the pie. I will say the mindset of this team is if we go out there, there are enough plays to be made for all of us, we’ve just got to go out there and execute. I know that was a long answer, but I thought I was going to get philosophical.”
While Osborn is playing on a one-year, $4 million expiring contract, Bourne will be a member of the Patriots until 2026 unless he’s released or traded during the offseason. If the goal of 2024 is to set things up for a big 2025, building his connection with Maye should be prioritized instead of running away from.
Jerod Mayo also reflects on the Patriots RB usage in Week 10
Elsewhere in his media session, Mayo was asked about the decision to use JaMycal Hasty as Rhamondre Stevenson’s primary backup instead of Antonion Gibson, with the former outplaying the latter 12 snaps to seven. While here, too, some may question the decision not to play the team’s biggest free agent addition of the offseason, Mayo noted there wasn’t some grander ulterior motive under the surface, instead just the natural breakdown of how the game shook out.
“I would just say all three of those backs bring something different to the table,” Mayo told reporters. “Again, just the last couple of weeks, it was more of a Hasty game than a Gibby [Antonio Gibson] game. Look, that is a week-after-week discussion, not only at the back spot, but at multiple positions on this team.”
Should the Patriots find ways to play Gibson more, especially since he, too, is under contract in 2025 and even 2026? Yes, but considering Hasty is in a contract year, maybe New England wants to see what he can do, too, as they attempt to figure out what the future looks like in Foxboro.
