On Wednesday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Zo added some context to Troy Brown’s comments about Kendrick Bourne taking a step back over the offseason and not making a ton of noise during the preseason. According to Zo, a message like that only comes directly from Bill Belichick.

• Zo thinks Bill Belichick is sending a message through Troy Brown

  Zo: What happened to Bourne?

  Beetle: How do you take that? Yeah, you say, ooh, you think that sounds bad?

  Zo: Yeah. He didn’t have the type of offseason he had a year ago. Other guys are making plays and they’ve earned the opportunity and we’re going to play the guys that we feel best help the team. Like he’s (Troy Brown) told to say that, he has to say that unless Bill gives him the okay to say they had a bad offseason.

  Beetle: Interesting. I find it interesting that you took it in a negative way. Just because a coach speaks like a normal human being and is able to admit the obvious in what Troy Brown said. I think we are conditioned to hear so little out of Foxborough, that when someone just admits and talks about the obvious that Kendrick Bourne did not have the same build up before the start of the season this year as he did a year ago. He’s had some issues.

  Zo: They went and signed another receiver…

  Beetle: Couldn’t we all see that, though, that he didn’t have the best, you know, camp and the best preseason?

  Zo: I think it’s right now a struggle for him to get back in the mix and tells me that he’s unhappy for whatever reason. I don’t know what happened, whether he’s complaining that he’s not part of the new game plans or not the focal point, I thought it was trending rally well for him from the end of last year and my expectations for him were high. I thought he was your best receiver or had the ability to be your best receiver. I just know Bill and how Bill operates. Coaches aren’t allowed to talk that way unless they’re told it’s okay to put it out there to get a kick in the ass, like let’s put it out there that he hasn’t been doing well.

• Listen to the full conversation

• Check out the video

  "I just know Bill [Belichick] and how Bill operates. Coaches aren't allowed to talk that way unless they're told it's okay."@ZoandBertrand react to Troy Brown's comments about Kendrick Bourne's performance during training camp 🤔
  
  Presented by @DraftKings pic.twitter.com/iJYQfAAAdK

  — NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) September 7, 2022

• Albert Breer gave his thoughts on the rocky dynamic

  Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated and MMQB joined the show on Thursday and added some context to the rocky relationship currently brewing between Kendrick Bourne and the Patriots.

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