Patriots Hint at Next Veteran Release With Surprise Inactive in Week 11

Heading into their Week 11 contest against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, the New England Patriots shook up their wide receiver room, releasing former second-round pick Tyquan Thornton on Saturday. 

The young wide receiver struggled throughout his three-year tenure with the Patriots and looked like a potential trade candidate ahead of the deadline. In addition to Thornton's release, the Pats surprisingly benched Kendrick Bourne as they wanted to see more of the young WRs.

Nonetheless, it seems New England could be going in that direction again this week, but this time it involves a different wide receiver. New England announced that veteran wide receiver K.J. Osborn was one of several inactive players for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.

The 27-year-old wide receiver has had a rough first season in New England, only producing seven receptions (18 targets) for 57 yards. Osborn had his name come up as a potential trade candidate, but the Patriots did not trade him earlier this month.

Osborn did not play in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans but played 29 offensive snaps in last week’s win against the Chicago Bears. The veteran wideout had one target in the game but played his most snaps since Week 4 (42).

The Patriots are in a tough spot at wide receiver as they are one of 14 teams in the league that had six receivers on their roster heading into last week, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

That means we will see situations like Bourne or Osborn being made inactive, giving the young receivers more playing time. However, Osborn being made inactive for the second time in the past three games doesn't look good for his roster prospects going forward.

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