Bourne was joined on the practice fields by defenders Sione Takitaki and Marte Mapu.
On the same day that they lost starting center David Andrews for the season, the New England Patriots also received some serious reinforcements. Three players currently on injury reserve lists are making their return to practice, thus starting the clock for each of them to ultimately rejoin the active roster.
Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne’s comeback was already announced by head coach Jerod Mayo on Monday. During a press conference on Wednesday’s, Mayo said that linebacker Sione Takitaki and linebacker/safety Marte Mapu would join him.
“All three of them will practice today,” the first-year head coach said.
Bourne and Takitaki started the season on the physically unable to perform list; Mapu was placed on injured reserve and designated to return ahead of roster cutdowns in late August. All three became eligible to return this week.
Bourne, 29, was New England’s most productive pass catcher last season before going down with a torn ACL in late October. A 2021 free agency addition, he has a combined 42 regular season and playoff games on his Patriots résumé and has been the recipient of 134 total passes that he took for 1,717 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Takitaki, 29, joined the Patriots as a free agent in March to compete for the third linebacker spot alongside Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai. However, he had to undergo a knee scope during the offseason and was subsequently forced to sit out all of training camp and preseason. Before his arrival in New England, he played 75 total games over his five-year stint as a member of the Cleveland Browns.
Mapu, 24, was selected by the Patriots in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Seeing action in all 17 games as a rookie, he was primarily used as a linebacker/safety hybrid on defense and as a four-unit contributor on special teams. He has one interception and forced fumble each to his name so far.
With all three back at practice, the window for their return has now been opened. The Patriots have 21 days to either activate them to the 53-man squad, or else they will revert to their reserve status and miss the remainder of the season.
As Mayo pointed out on Wednesday, however, the expectation is that all three will eventually rejoin the team, possibly as early as this week’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
“I wouldn’t say it’s unrealistic,” Mayo said. “I think we have to sit here and see how the next couple of days go. Even those guys are at different points — I’m not going to say 100 percent, 80 percent, all that stuff — and they’ll practice depending on how their body feels. We go through our individual drills and we’ll take it from there.”
Besides Bourne, Takitaki and Mapu, two other players would also have been eligible to return to practice this week. However, neither Cole Strange (PUP/knee) nor Christian Barmore (NFI/blood clots) have been cleared for practice yet.
The Patriots will host the Dolphins for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.