Overview

• Bourne requested his release on Wednesday and the Patriots granted it, according to reports from Tom Pelissero and Adam Schefter.
• As a vested veteran he will not go on waivers and becomes a free agent immediately, with ESPN reporting the 49ers as very interested and the Vikings having previously inquired.
• New England initially kept eight receivers on its 53, then moved to seven after Bourne’s exit as the team fine-tuned positional depth.
• Bourne had not practiced since a Aug. 2 foot injury and his recent production was limited following a 2023 torn ACL.
• He had two years left on a three-year, $19.5 million deal; cap analysts project 2025–26 savings of roughly $5–6 million per year with about $1.4 million annually in dead money.