The San Francisco 49ers had a great win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday behind their franchise quarterback Brock Purdy in his return from injury.
However, one wide receiver may see his playing time diminish.
Kendrick Bourne returned to the Niners after several seasons with the New England Patriots. While in New England, Bourne established chemistry with quarterback Mac Jones. That chemistry transferred beautifully to San Francisco as Bourne and Jones teamed up to have some great performances in the red and gold.
In Week 5 against the Los Angeles Rams, Bourne put up 142 receiving yards in a winning effort. He followed that up with another 142-yard performance in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Bourne was held in check after that, though, and the return of Jauan Jennings and George Kittle from injuries certainly had something to do with the drop-off.
But the chemistry was still there between Jones and Bourne when it was needed.
In Week 4, when Purdy tried to return from injury too soon, Bourne had just one catch on four targets and had a few drops, which seemed to show the chemistry with Purdy was not quite there and that Bourne probably was the beneficiary of Jones being behind center.
In Week 11 against Arizona, Bourne was held without a catch for the first time this season. He did not even receive a target as Purdy was obviously more comfortable throwing to the guys he is familiar with in Kittle, Jennings, and running back Christian McCaffrey.
Going forward, it's tough to see Bourne being a big part of the passing game. With Kittle and Jennings healthy, and Ricky Pearsall back from injury even though he had just one catch against Arizona, it is going to be harder to have Bourne as a key part of the offensive attack.
Now, Bourne has likely been relegated to reserve status as a third, fourth, or fifth receiver on the depth chart where he will compete for playing time with Demarcus Robinson and rookie Jordan Watkins.
Plus, he needs just 18 yards to reach 500 on the season and earn himself a nice $500,000 contract bonus, so expect head coach Kyle Shanahan to throw him a bone or two before the season is over.
Bourne is still a very nice depth piece to have. If a guy goes down with an injury, he will be great to have as a reserve option, and he and Purdy can probably establish some sort of chemistry if needed, even if they havn't been able to play much with one another.
He brings a fun energy to the field, and that energy could be just as valuable on the sideline as well, even if he sees his playing time decrease with other receivers getting healthy and Purdy back under center.