Mike Vrabel to Cut 3 WRs as Ja’Lynn Polk Gets Future Update From Patriots HC – Report

As the training camp intensifies, so do the decisions looming over the first-year New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. In New England, summer heat isn’t just about temperature; it’s about roster pressure. Every rep, every route, every whisper in the coach’s office could tip the balance of an NFL hopeful’s fate. The Patriots hired Mike Vrabel to steer the post-Belichick era, and expectations weren’t just about wins; they were about clarity. New England has lacked an offensive identity for years. Vrabel is ready to draw hard lines, and that line has now run right through the wide receiver room.

The Patriots’ 2024 season wasn’t just disappointing; it was a wake-up call. A 4–13 record. Dead last in the AFC East. A once-feared dynasty is now reduced to bottom-feeding in the standings. And it wasn’t just the losses that stung; it was the way they came. An offense that couldn’t move the chains, wide receivers who couldn’t separate, and a locker room that lacked cohesion. Bill Belichick‘s departure became less of a shock and more of a necessity. Enter Mike Vrabel. Now, he isn’t promising miracles. What he is promising, and what he’s now delivering, is accountability.

Following that dreadful 2024 campaign, Vrabel was never going to run it back with the same names. And one of the biggest storylines out of Foxborough this week is his decision to part ways with Kendrick Bourne, Efton Chism III, and John Jiles, as first reported by MassLive’s Mark Daniels. Daniels emphasized how difficult the cuts were to make in the first place, as the total roster had 90 players, and they could only go with the refined 53.

While talking about the WR room, Daniels wrote, “The Patriots have too many receivers on this 90-man roster. They might only keep six. In this exercise, Polk and Baker make it due to their potential. Bourne is a great locker room presence and a tough cut, but he’s been mostly working with the second team this summer.” The Patriots’ offense ranked 30th in the league last season, managing just 4,964 total yards. Their 1,969 rushing yards ranked 23rd, and they controlled the ball only 48.68% of the time, ranked 26th in the NFL, highlighting major inefficiencies across the board. Vrabel inherits a Patriots offense that was one of the league’s worst in 2024, and he’s wasting no time overhauling it from the ground up.

Bourne’s release sends a clear message. Despite being a respected locker room voice, he recorded 28 catches on 38 targets for 305 yards and a TD in 12 games last season and spent most of the 2025 camp with the second team, falling behind younger talent. Chism III and Jiles were long shots from the start and failed to show enough consistency in camp to stay on the roster.

But while Vrabel trims the roster in response to last season’s collapse, one rookie receiver is making it harder for the staff to ignore his rise. In a receiver room filled with question marks and shifting roles, his consistency is quietly changing the narrative.

HC Mike Vrabel is impressed by Ja’Lynn Polk

Ja’Lynn Polk, the Patriots’ 2024 second-round pick out of Washington, has quickly emerged as one of the most reliable and impressive performers in training camp. While veteran receivers are being phased out, Polk is doing the opposite, earning first-team reps, executing routes with precision, and drawing direct praise from Mike Vrabel himself. As the Patriots work to rebuild their offense from the ground up, Polk is increasingly looking like a foundational piece in the Vrabel era.

Polk has been a fixture in first-team drills, lining up alongside veterans like Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins. According to Patriots Wire, he’s caught the eye of head coach Mike Vrabel, who offered rare, pointed praise, saying, “A player that worked extremely hard to get back and ready to go … there’s been some positive things that he’s done since he’s been back.” Polk enters training camp with something to prove after a quiet rookie campaign that saw him tally just 12 receptions for 87 yards and a single touchdown. Now competing in a crowded receiver room with 10 others, he’s far from guaranteed a spot on the final 53-man roster. But if he can string together steady, high-impact performances throughout camp, Polk still has an opportunity to rewrite his trajectory and earn a more prominent role in Year 2.

That endorsement carries weight, especially in a Vrabel-led program where execution and mental discipline often matter more than flash or raw athleticism. As Vrabel reshapes the Patriots’ receiver room, Ja’Lynn Polk’s emergence stands out as a bright spot in an otherwise uncertain group. With veteran cuts looming and a new culture taking hold, Polk’s steady rise could make him a surprise pillar in New England’s offensive rebuild.