https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/to-get-up-to-speed-with-49ers-kendrick-bourne-is-leaning-on-mac-jones
Receiver Kendrick Bourne has returned to the 49ers, after four seasons in New England. As Bourne gets ready for what could be his first game with the 49ers since 2020, Bourne is relying on a former New England teammate.
Quarterback Mac Jones, who’ll get the start on Sunday at New Orleans in place of Brock Purdy, is getting Bourne up to speed.
“He’s been helping me get acclimated,” Bourne said Thursday, via Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “Just studying with him, he’s been giving me tips, gems of how to think about things.”
And Bourne has full faith in Jones’s ability to get the job done for the 49ers.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Bourne said, per Maiocco. “He’s used to it. He’s been a starter in this league. He’s experienced everything. He knows what to see, he knows how to study, he knows exactly what to do, so I’m secure in knowing how prepared he will be.”
Bourne’s first year in New England coincided with Jones’s arrival as a first-round draft pick.
“Mac helped me when I transitioned over there,” Bourne said. “It was his rookie year, and I had one of my best years, so it was dope to be around.”
It was dope, that is, until some dope put a defensive coach in charge of the offense.
“Things go how they go,” Bourne said. “Every year is different. Some are good, some are bad, and we both fell victim to certain situations and them not going the way we probably planned them to go.”
That’s absolutely the most diplomatic way to describe what became, to use a technical term, a shit show in New England under the team’s former head coach.
For now, the question is whether Bourne will be ready to go, less than a week after returning to San Francisco.
“I don’t think it’s too much to ask,” Bourne said. “But it’s all up to me. It falls on me. So if I go out there and I don’t know what I’m doing, it’s because I didn’t study enough. I’ve been just attacking it this week and I’m excited to see what happens. . . . I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to see what’s going to happen.”
That’s a good outlook on life, generally. Of course, 49ers fans may not feel that way when it comes to Purdy not being able to play, after only one game of the 2025 season.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/to-get-up-to-speed-with-49ers-kendrick-bourne-is-leaning-on-mac-jones
