On Wednesday morning, Kansas City Chiefs fans received an update on Rashee Rice's suspension. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Rice has accepted a six-game suspension that will start in Week 1. That said, Kansas City prepared for Rice's suspension by keeping eight receivers on its initial 53-man roster.
Even so, the Chiefs were gifted an opportunity to upgrade their wide receiver depth to offset Rice's suspension on Wednesday. According to Adam Schefter, the New England Patriots have released veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne. Adding Bourne would give the Chiefs another reliable veteran option in their receiver room.
Patriots are releasing WR Kendrick Bourne after he requested his release, per source. pic.twitter.com/OGxBOMdHqZ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 27, 2025
Chiefs Must Consider Signing WR Kendrick Bourne
Prior to final roster cuts, Bourne requested a trade out of New England. Unfortunately 30-year-old, the Patriots were unable to find a team to provide the compensation they wanted. As a result, they were forced to release him post roster cuts.
For the Chiefs, this works out perfectly as it means that they don't have to give up draft capital for a player who they likely only need for six games. Bourne has spent four years with the Patriots and four years in San Francisco with the 49ers in his eight-year career.
In that time, he has caught 68% (292/429) of his passes for 3,714 yards and 22 touchdowns. Despite not being the fastest, he's found success thanks to his route-running ability. That's the same archetype that Rice fits into.
That said, Kansas City already has a veteran receiver who fits that role in JuJu Smith-Schuster. Smith-Schuster has also spent three seasons with the Chiefs, building up a relationship with Patrick Mahomes. Therefore, Mahomes is likely to lean on Smith-Schuster a good bit while Rice is out.
Still, signing Bourne would provide better depth than the Chiefs' current eight receivers. As it stands right now, Jason Brownlee is Kansas City's eighth receiver. While he stood out in the preseason, he's never really made an impact in the regular season.
In his two seasons with the New York Jets, the former undrafted receiver recorded five receptions on eight targets for 56 yards and one touchdown. Though he didn't receive many opportunities with the Jets, utilizing him when a more proven player like Bourne is available is risky.
It will be interesting to see if general manager Brett Veach replaces someone in this receiver room with Bourne.