Patriots young wide receivers struggling to toe the line in new regime

FOXBORO — Jerod Mayo had been consistent since Day 1 as Patriots head coach in saying that he encourages players to speak their minds to the media. But young wide receivers on the team might be taking the approach too far.

Mayo reiterated the message Monday when asked about wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale calling out teammates to the Herald after the Patriots’ 32-16 loss to the Jaguars.

“I think just how I use the media sometimes for messaging, I think some of the players do the same thing. I’m not going to tell them, ‘Say this, say that.’ No, if that’s how you feel, if you feel like you’re the best player in the league, then go out and do it,” Mayo said. “If you feel like you want to challenge your brother beside you, I mean, go out and do it.”

Second-year pro Kayshon Boutte spoke out Wednesday, saying he’s frustrated when he doesn’t get targets because, “I’ve caught every ball that’s thrown to me this season.”

“So, I just feel like I would always go to the sideline and demand the ball,” Boutte told reporters. “So, whether it was that deep ball (against the Jaguars) – I asked for that. The Texans game, I asked for that. So, I feel like I shouldn’t have to really ask.”

Despite Mayo’s messaging, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt wants wide receivers to keep their focus on beating the Jets on Sunday, not airing out their frustrations to the media.

“I think we all understand we’re frustrated. Nobody’s going to be happy at 1-6,” Van Pelt said. “It’s just the reality of it. But I think that room in particular needs to keep the focus inward. We have a big game this week. All of our focus should be on getting a ‘W; on a Sunday. It’s a very good opponent coming in. I understand the frustrations. That’s part of losing football. Best way to take care of that is to get a win, but I think our focus right now needs to be solely on the Jets. It’s a challenge.”

The OC did say that he “loves” that players want more production and that he’d be disappointed if a player was happy after coming out of a game with no catches.

Rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk told MassLive.com last week that he believes he has the best hands in the NFL. He leads the Patriots with two drops and had two targets hit his hands against the Jaguars just to have them defended away.

Bourne said it’s sometimes hard to find the line between being told players can speak their minds and not saying too much.

“You just have to understand. I talk a lot, and there’s a lot of things that can get twisted and stuff like that. But if you’re talking genuinely, and you’re talking from your heart to help your teammates, I think that’s what he wants us to do, instead of pointing at us, making it about me, pointing the finger at him. It’s his fault. No, it’s a group effort,” Bourne said. “If we can keep that mindset when we’re talking to you guys, then I don’t think it would be as crazy, but we’re just falling short of ‘it’s about me, it’s his fault and these things,’ so just focusing in on what really matters, and I think that’s what Jerod is getting at.”

The Patriots held a team meeting Thursday morning demanding more out of players. As part of Bourne’s comments after Sunday’s game, he said players have to make better personal decisions, whether that’s going to bed earlier or eating better.

Bourne stressed Thursday morning that he was not talking about wide receiver Pop Douglas, who was limited during Sunday’s game with a bout of food poisoning.

“We had a really great team meeting this morning where that was pointed out,” Van Pelt said about players not doing everything they can during the week to be the best professionals they can be on game day. “Obviously, at 1-6, that’s not good enough across the board, any of us, so we need to be better, work harder, rehab harder, refresh better, take care of ourselves. We gotta spend more time in the room. So good meeting this morning, demanding more of everybody across the board.”

Rookie Javon Baker, who missed Friday’s practice in London with an illness and was inactive for Sunday’s game, believed the meeting went well.

“Just to put more effort in and work harder in practice,” Baker said.

Bourne said the meeting was about “trying to get refocused.”

“You could say it’s a lack of maturity,” Bourne said of the attitudes of younger wide receivers. “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.”

When Bourne was a rookie undrafted free agent for the 49ers in 2017, he missed a meeting early in the season, was benched and got relegated to scout team duty. He now uses that story to stress the importance of being team-first to the Patriots’ younger wide receivers.

“Going through that was the best thing for me,” Bourne said. “I couldn’t see it at first. Maybe I was pouty in the beginning, but then as the days went on, I started to understand, ‘OK, this opportunity for me to change things around.’

“And that experience allows me to help my guys. Now, whatever is in front of you, it’s a test. It’s your test to understand if you want to get past it, or you can keep sinking and falling more.”

Bourne also said that drama surrounding the team is tied to their six-game losing streak, and if they want things to change, then they need to start winning games.