Patriots get three players back at practice to start Week 5
Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, linebacker Sione Takitaki, and safety Marte Mapu have all been designated to return from IR/PUP.
This is the first week players who began the season on IR and PUP are eligible to return to practice. The New England Patriots got three of those players back on the field on Wednesday.
In addition to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who head coach Jerod Mayo had already said was going to return this week, the Patriots also had two defensive players return to the practice field in linebacker Sione Takitaki and linebacker/safety Marte Mapu.
Bourne, 29, missed all of spring and summer practices working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered last October. Prior to that injury Bourne was the Patriots’ leading receiver catching 37 passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns in eight games. Once he returns, Bourne figures to play a central role in the Patriots’ passing game.
On defense, the help at the second and third levels comes as the Patriots’ depth in those spots is tested. The team is already without linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, and safety Kyle Dugger is expected to miss time with an ankle injury. On top of that, safety Jabrill Peppers wasn’t on the field for Wednesday’s practice.
Takitaki, who the Patriots signed as a free agent this offseason, gives the team another option as an off-ball linebacker to help replace the many responsibilities opened up by Bentley’s injury. Takitaki missed all of camp after undergoing a knee scope.
Mapu participated in the first day of training camp but was an observer from that point on due to an undisclosed injury. A linebacker in college who was used mostly as a box safety in his first NFL season in 2023 he could fill multiple roles, but given how little practice time he’s had it’s tougher to project how the new coaching staff might view him.
By having these three players return to practice the Patriots ‘started the clock’ on each of them. Once a player begins practicing after being on IR or PUP the team has 21 days to add them to the active roster or they become ineligible to play for the rest of the year.
Prior to Wednesday’s practice, Mayo was asked if it’s ‘unrealistic’ to expect any or all of the three players to be activated this week. “I wouldn’t say it’s unrealistic. I think we have to sit here and see how the next couple of days go,” Mayo said. ‘Look, even those guys are at different points as far as, I’m not going to say 100%, 80% and all that stuff, but I would say those guys are at different points. They’ll practice depending on how their body feels. We’ll go through our individual drills, and we’ll take it from there.”
When it comes time to activate the three players, the Patriots will likely need to make corresponding moves. Heading into Week 5 they have one spot open on the 53-man roster, while another expected to be opened when center David Andrews is placed on IR.
