Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne tears ACL in Week 8 loss to Dolphins as productive contract year gets cut short

The New England Patriots dropped to 2-6 on the season on Sunday and are now getting even more bad news. Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne suffered a torn ACL during the Week 8 loss to the Dolphins, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones confirmed on Monday, and will now be sidelined for the remainder of the season. The immediate hope was that Bourne just tore his MCL, per NFL Media, but the worst-case scenario has come up for the pass-catcher and is now cutting his promising season short.

Bourne suffered the injury early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-17 loss at Hard Rock Stadium. The 28-year-old hauled in a third-and-9 pass from Mac Jones for six yards and was slow to get up after coming down with the reception near the sideline. After the play, he was put on the shelf for the remainder of the game.

Before this injury, Bourne had arguably been New England’s top receiver this season. In this game, the wideout caught three of his four targets for 36 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown from Jones in the first quarter. That came a week after Bourne caught six passes for 63 yards and another score during the Patriots’ Week 7 upset over the Buffalo Bills.

This is an unfortunate turn of events no matter which way you slice it. On top of the Patriots losing their top receiver, Bourne was also in the middle of a contract year and is set to be a free agent this offseason. Instead of potentially being moved to a contender at Tuesday’s trade deadline or fully cashing in once he hits the open market this offseason, the question now turns to whether or not this injury will drastically impact what he can fetch in free agency this spring.