New England Patriots' Kendrick Bourne Suggesting Trade For Brandon Aiyuk?

Now confirmed to be a part of the New England Patriots' future, Kendrick Bourne is looking to stage a reunion with Brandon Aiyuk.

Oct 25, 2020; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) / Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Call it The Bourne Re-Assembly.

Signer of a contract that could keep him in New England Patriots garb through 2026, Kendrick Bourne is looking to solidify his new home's present and future. Not only was Bourne one of the Patriots' most consistent sources of offense in 2023 but he's now apparently looking to put New England on a better pace for the road ahead.

Bourne's recent Instagram story saw him reaching out to an old friend from the Bay Area, as he's apparently trying to recruit current San Francisco 49er Brandon Aiyuk.

Sep 17, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

"Come to NE," Bourne said as he shared a video of himself and Aiyuk (h/t 49ers Webzone) engaged in an elaborate handshake/dance prior to a 2020 game against Buffalo. That wound up being Bourne's final season with the 49ers while Aiyuk has stayed behind to become one of the NFL's more dangerous aerial threats.

Over the past two seasons, Aiyuk ranks 11th in the NFL with 2,357 receiving yards, adding 258 more over each of the last couple of postseasons. He is set to be a free agent after this though his name as lingered in trade rumors considering the fact that San Francisco is also looking for a way to keep Deebo Samuel.

"Potential" best describes the Patriots' receivers room, as there are high hopes for Bourne as he returns from a torn ACL. Bourne's early exit allowed a mini-showcase for rookie Demario Douglas but last year's headlining free agent acquisition, JuJu Smith-Schuster, failed to impress.

The receivers' shortcomings could be chalked up to trouble at the quarterback spot, where management pulled the plug on the Mac Jones experiment after two-plus seasons. New England is widely assumed to be using the third pick in the upcoming draft, the sole consolation for last year's four-win slog, on a quarterback.

Bourne's apparent recruitment perhaps gives the presumed newcomer a goal to work toward. The receiver's prescience should sweeten the deal, but, as Bourne and Smith-Schuster partly learned last season, prior prestige can only do so much when it comes to ineffective passing.