Patriots hoping a healthy Bourne can bring ‘juice’ to receiving corps

Kendrick Bourne returned to Patriots practice this week nearly a year after he tore his ACL last October in a loss to the Dolphins.

Bourne, who led the Patriots in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns at the time of his injury, made his presence felt during his first practice on Wednesday, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said.

“The energy, the juice, you felt that immediately,” Van Pelt said. “Practice was different when he stepped on the field, just the way he carries himself and the energy he plays with.”

“That will be a huge boost for us in the receiver room,” Van Pelt added. “And his ability to get open and run with the ball after he catches it are some of the things he does extremely well. So, real excited for him. I know he’s worked extremely hard to get back and we’re excited to have him back.”

Bourne, who missed the team’s first four games after being placed on injured reserve, said he felt “really well” after his first pair of practices this season.

“It’s been a process,” Bourne said. “I took it the right way, strengthening it in the beginning. It was very weak at the start of it, and just doing rehab, taking it on, taking it serious, and getting quality reps in everything that I did so where I’m at now is very positive.”

Bourne said the stint on injured reserve gave him extra time to prepare, which he found useful.

“It was just kind of planning as the days went,” Bourne said. “I didn’t feel strong at a certain point in the season. I probably would have been able to play but it would have been better for me to take some more time.

“So, that four weeks was kind of like my training camp,” Bourne continued. “It was no training, it was just rehab so I couldn’t polish my routes and things like that. So, that four weeks helped me polish and get ready for practice.”

Bourne said the recovery process changed his perspective and taught him how much grit he has.

“It’s a change in the mindset and I think it’s from God,” Bourne said. “So that’s just the best part about it. It’s a perspective you don’t get unless you go through it. I feel like nothing can stop me now. I’m still susceptible to getting injured, but going through it now anything I’ll probably experience in the future, hopefully I don’t knock on wood but I’ll have the perspective to get through it.”

It can be tough to tell exactly where he’ll fit into the offense because of how little time he has spent practicing compared to healthy players who were able to practice during the summer and throughout this season.

“It’s tricky, but I just trust AVP so if he wants me to run this route, OK I see that he likes me on this route. If I struggle on this route, not so much, Bourne said. “So just learning as I go. I’m kind of limited right now. I can do everything, but I have a count so I have to trust the process and know what they want me to do.”