How Patriots’ Kendrick Bourne feels about being linked in 49ers trade rumors again

FOXBORO — Kendrick Bourne was already mentioned in trade rumors once over the summer, and now as it’s happening again nearing the trade deadline, he’s trying to block out the noise as best as possible. But in all reality, he hears it.

And if it’s up to Bourne, the veteran wide receiver wants to remain with the Patriots.

Bourne’s name was floated out as a trade chip when the Patriots were attempting to swing a deal with the 49ers for Brandon Aiyuk this summer. Bourne was signed by the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch’s first year in San Francisco and emerged as one of their top wide receivers before signing with the Patriots in free agent in 2021.

Aiyuk is now out for the season after tearing his ACL and MCL, and since the 49ers already were interested in Bourne once this summer, his name has naturally been mentioned in trade rumors if Shanahan and Lynch are looking to upgrade their wide receiver room.

“This is where I want to be. I see myself being a strong footprint for this change, and a foundation of where this place is going, because I helped the Niners in their foundation get to where they are,” Bourne told the Herald on Thursday. “And I want to do it here. I just kind of ignore it, but I hear it, but this is where — I want to do it here, you know what I’m saying? I want to, because when it starts popping, it’s going to be popping, and so I want to be a part of it. Because San Fran, they popping, and I see it from a distance. But now that’s not my calling. My calling is to be here and help these guys here in this organization here. And I really, like, genuinely saying that. I really mean that. And so I’m excited where we’re at. It’s tough right now. It’s supposed to be tough, and so I kind of just ignore it.”

Bourne tore his ACL last October and returned to the field nearly a year later. So, he texted Aiyuk to tell him he’ll be OK and come back even stronger.

Bourne is also using his experience with the 49ers to motivate his younger teammates. The 49ers started 0-9 in Shanahan’s first season and finished 2017 at 6-10. They were 4-12 in 2018 but then went 13-3 and were playing in the Super Bowl by Year 3.

The Patriots are hoping they go through a similar circumstance with first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. They won Week 1 but have now lost six straight.

“I know it can happen. I understand it, and I’ve seen it,” Bourne said. “So just using those gems that I’ve experienced to help with the young guys.”