3 Players Patriots Must Consider Benching amid 2-6 Start

The New England Patriots seem better off focusing on who will be around in 2024 than making a push up toward the AFC playoff positions.

New England enters the second half of its 2023 season with a 2-6 mark that is the worst record in the AFC.

Any potential push up the standings got more difficult with the news of Kendrick Bourne's torn ACL.

Bill Belichick and his staff need to find some ways to make the rest of the season productive that way a bounce back is in the cards in 2024.

That could mean the benching of some offensive players is in play as the future of the team steps forward.

JuJu Smith-Schuster

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Arlington, TX - October 1: New England Patriots WR JuJu Smith-Schuster catches the ball in warmups before the game. The Patriots lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 38-3. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The JuJu Smith-Schuster free-agent signing has not worked out for the Patriots.

Smith-Schuster ranks fourth among wide receivers on the roster in receiving yards. He has just 89 yards in six games played.

The yardage total looks even worse when you consider the veteran wide out has 15 catches.

Smith-Schuster recorded his first touchdown catch as a Patriot last week, and you would think that leads to more playing time, especially with Bourne out.

However, the Patriots would be better off playing their young wide receivers Demario Douglas and Tyquan Thornton.

Douglas and Thornton may not be a better combination than Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker, but the team has to figure out what it has in its young players to build toward 2024.

DeVante Parker

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MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 29: DeVante Parker #1 of the New England Patriots runs past Eli Apple #33 of the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on October 29, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Parker falls into the exact same category as Smith-Schuster.

The veteran wide receiver has not done much to suggest he should be the top replacement for Bourne, who leads the team in receiving yards.

Parker is averaging close to five more yards per catch than Smith-Schuster on the same amount of receptions.

At least you can make a case that Parker has been productive with his receptions, but the Patriots would still be better off giving Douglas and Thornton the majority of the pass-catching workload.

Parker can continue to be a good supporting piece, but he can't be the primary target as the Patriots try to figure out who to build their team around in 2024.

Mike Gesicki

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FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 22: Mike Gesicki #88 of the New England Patriots looks on between plays in the first half of the game against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on October 22, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

There's very little motivation to keep Mike Gesicki in the pass-catching rotation.

Gesicki has been outperformed by Hunter Henry and Pharoah Brown and he is in line to walk at the end of his one-year deal.

Gesicki has a single touchdown catch and 10 fewer yards than Brown, who has 18 fewer catches than the former Miami Dolphins player.

Brown proved to be the more explosive tight end alongside Henry, and that should be the two tight end mix that the Patriots use for the rest of 2023.

Gesicki could still be used in heavy sets and in the red zone, where he was effective during his time in Miami, but he does seem to be in line for the bulk of the catches from the tight end spot anytime soon.