Josh McDaniels' return to Foxboro as the New England Patriots offensive coordinator likely will benefit many players on that side of the ball.
If previous results are any indication, Kendrick Bourne might stand to benefit more than most.
The veteran wide receiver enjoyed a strong debut season with the Patriots in 2021, tallying career highs with 55 receptions, 800 yards and five touchdowns. McDaniels was the offensive coordinator that year but left the following offseason to become Las Vegas Raiders head coach.
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SIGN UP HERE Bourne's production has dipped since, although an ACL tear in 2023 certainly played a factor in that.
Bourne is excited about the impact he can make in this offense with McDaniels running the show.
"It's been great," Bourne told reporters during a press conference at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday. "It's been four years since, and just to see him, man, it's been awesome. Definitely (picking up) where we left off has been great. (I'm) very familiar with him, he's familiar with me, so it's just an honor to be back with him.
"We know his history and everything he's done. The (2021 season) was great, but everything's about 2025 and looking forward to that. So it's just been good building with him so far."
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Bourne sees himself as a good fit in the kind of offensive scheme McDaniels wants to run.
"Absolutely, as you all know, I had my best year under him," Bourne said. "I'm not banking on that, you know, I work every year -- every year is different, so I'm coming into the year with that mentality, but understanding that relationships are big in this league and if I can build off of that, it'll help me in whatever area that is to be better.
"But I love his offense. I'm familiar with it, and I just kind of know where I fit in, plug and play, different things, and I just try to excel at what he wants me to do."
Bourne missed the first four games of last season as he finished his recovery from a torn ACL. He tallied 28 receptions for 305 yards and one touchdown in 12 games.
Now that he's more than a year removed from that knee injury and won't have to miss any offseason workouts, Bourne is hoping to hit the ground running going into the 2025 campaign.
"I hope to be shot out of a cannon when I come out," he said.