WR Kendrick Bourne returns to 49ers on a 1-year deal
Eight-year veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne is returning to the San Francisco 49ers after the team signed him to a one-year deal, his agent announced Monday.
The signing comes after the 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings injured his shoulder in Sunday's season-opening win against Seattle. Ricky Pearsall was the only other 49ers wide receiver to make a reception in the game, while Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle also had to leave the game with a hamstring injury.
The team is already missing top receiver Brandon Aiyuk as he recovers from a knee injury last season, while receivers Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing and Malik Turner were also out with injuries. Meanwhile, receiver Demarcus Robinson is suspended for the first three games of the season because of a DUI arrest.
ESPN reporter Adam Schefter first reported Bourne's signing, citing his agent Henry Organn as saying the deal was worth up to $5 million. Bourne celebrated the move with a social media post to the 49er Faithful, announcing "I'm back."
Bourne played the last four seasons with the New England Patriots and was among the team's final cuts on the August 26 roster deadline day. He spent his first four seasons with the 49ers after the team signed him to a three-year deal as an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Washington in 2017. He was re-signed to a one-year contract in 2020.
His best season with the 49ers was in 2020, when he had 49 receptions for 667 yards and two touchdowns. In the 2019 season, Bourne appeared in Super Bowl LIV after tying with TE George Kittle for the most touchdown receptions on the team with five.
Following the 2020 season, Bourne signed with the Patriots and had a career year, appearing in 17 games and notching 55 receptions for 800 yards, all career highs. He also threw his first career touchdown pass that season and rushed 12 times for 125 yards.
Bourne's 2023 and 2024 seasons were marred by injury. He tore his ACL in Week 8 of the 2023 season and was placed on injured reserve. He started the 2024 season on the reserve/physically-unable-to-perfom list to begin the season and wasn't activated until October.
During his eight-year career, Bourne has totaled 292 receptions for 3,717 yards and 22 touchdowns.