The Pittsburgh Steelers have a talented pair of wide receivers in George Pickens and Diontae Johnson, but they could use some veteran depth at the position.
During a recent appearance on The North Shore Drive podcast, Ray Fittipaldo of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentioned New England Patriots wide out Kendrick Bourne as a potential fit for the Steelers.
“You know, Bourne could be an interesting guy,” Fittipaldo said. “Had some success in New England and you think, you know maybe there’s a little bit more meat on that bone because the offensive coordinator thing up there had been a circus for the last couple of years. The quarterback situation hasn’t been good the last couple of years. So you think maybe get him into a different offense, maybe he could put up some stats.”
Bourne’s 2023 campaign was cut short after eight games due to a torn ACL. During his time on the field this past season, he logged 37 catches for 406 yards and four touchdowns.
Due to his middling production over the last couple of years and the fact that he is coming off of a major injury, Bourne could probably be had for fairly cheap in free agency and could end up being a significant boon to a team that is in need of an auxiliary option in the aerial attack.
Bourne, who played his collegiate football at Eastern Washington, went undrafted but ultimately landed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017.
He spent the first four years of his career with the 49ers, with his best season there coming in 2020 when he caught 49 passes for 667 yards and a couple of scores.
The 28-year-old then moved on to the Patriots and enjoyed the most productive year of his career during his debut campaign with the club, hauling in 55 receptions for 800 yards while reaching the end zone five times. However, in 2022, Bourne took a big step back, finishing with just 35 catches for 343 yards and a touchdown.
There will be a solid amount of really good receivers on the free-agent market next month, so perhaps Bourne could be a bit of a sleeper for a team like Pittsburgh.
