The New England Patriots went through some drastic changes coming into the season, with the franchise firing head coach Bill Belichick and making a change at quarterback, moving on from Mac Jones and bringing in rookie Drake Maye from the 2024 NFL Draft.
Although things started on a strong note with a win on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Patriots haven’t won a game since, losing six straight coming into the Week 8 matchup against the division-rival New York Jets.
Along with being unable to figure things out on the field, the locker room seems to be spiraling out of control, with new head coach Jerod Mayo unable to right the ship and raising doubts on whether it can get fixed this season or in the near future.
One issue is with the team’s young wide receivers, who have a “lack of maturity,” according to veteran wideout Kendrick Bourne.
“It just takes time. You come into the league, you got money, you’ve got to deal with your family and balance things out. It’s just a new generation. Things aren’t the same. NIL is different. It changes these guys’ mindset. People who have been through it before, we just have to keep teaching these guys on what’s important,” Bourne said, via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald.
Kendrick Bourne on the Patriots’ young wide receivers:
“You could say it’s a lack of maturity. It just takes time. You come into the league, you got money, you’ve got to deal with your family and balance things out. …
“It’s just a new generation. Things aren’t the same. NIL is… https://t.co/BuyCmdtkty
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) October 24, 2024
Although rough times were expected for the Patriots to start the post-Belichick era, the team seems to be surrounded by negative press, from the head coach down to the players.
Only time will tell if the Patriots can put things together, but the situation isn’t looking good at the moment.
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Bill Belichick Says Patriots ‘Have A Lot Of Questions To Answer’
