Jerod Mayo addresses Kendrick Bourne’s benching, Patriots lineup changes

The Patriots benched veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne in Sunday’s win over the Bears, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay out of the offensive game plan.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo was asked Monday morning if he plans to continue playing young wide receivers over Bourne.

“My goal as the head coach is to put the players out there that give us the best chance to win,” Mayo said. “Eliot [Wolf] and his staff, they have the hard part of trying to get the roster as well as we can get it now, but also looking for the future. Ultimately, it’s my decision and my decision on a week-after-week basis to put the best players out there that give us the best chance to win.”

Kayshon Boutte led Patriots wide receivers with 62 of 64 possible snaps. Veteran K.J. Osborn was second with 29 snaps, followed by DeMario Douglas with 27 snaps, Ja’Lynn Polk with 26 snaps and Javon Baker with four snaps.

“It’s always been about competition,” Mayo said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “I said that all the way back in training camp. It’s about competition and who has that better week of practice and who has that better week in the walk-throughs and the meeting rooms. That’s what it is.”

Overall, Mayo was happy with how the Patriots’ wide receivers performed, praising their blocking and their ability to get open and catch the football.

Douglas led the group with four catches for 50 yards. Boutte had four catches for 47 yards, and Polk scored on a 2-yard touchdown reception.

The Patriots experimented with playing Mike Onwenu, who has flipped between right guard and right tackle, at left guard in practice last week. Onwenu wound up staying at right guard, leaving Michael Jordan at left guard.

“It just goes back to what’s the best lineup that gives us the best opportunity to get movement up front and protect the quarterback, and that’s what we thought we were doing,” Mayo said of sticking with Onwenu at right guard. “That was the idea behind it.”

If Onwenu had moved to left guard, then rookie Layden Robinson would have started in his place at right guard.

The Patriots also have been shuffling snaps at backup running back this season between Antonio Gibson, who played more heavily early in the season, and JaMycal Hasty, who primarily played in reserve of starter Rhamondre Stevenson on Sunday.

“I would just say all three of those backs bring something different to the table,” Mayo said. “Again, just the last couple of weeks, it was more of a Hasty game than a Gibby game. Look, that is a week-after-week discussion, not only at the back spot, but at multiple positions on this team.”