The moment Kendrick Bourne tore his ACL late last October, he put the start of his 2024 season in jeopardy.

Recovery, particularly for skill-position players, usually requires a 9- to 12-month recovery period.

Bourne, however, is tracking to be ready for Week 1.

The Patriots’ veteran receiver opened up about his ongoing rehab Thursday on the “Pats Interference podcast,” saying he expects to be “primed up” to participate in minicamp this June and ready for the start of training camp come late July. Bourne said he’ll be jumping and running at full speed next month, while he works on strength and training other movements in the meantime.

“Everything is kind of back to normal in a sense,” he said. “It’s just re-learning how to break down. It’s just the landing, it’s the stopping that I’m really focusing on now. These first four months have been really good for me.”

To expedite his rehab, the 28-year-receiver has been living with a physical therapist who’s provided regular care at Bourne’s home in Portland, Oregon. Bourne left the team shortly after tearing his knee in a Week 8 loss at Miami on Oct. 29 and underwent surgery in Los Angeles. He later moved back to Portland, where recently he’s invited teammates Tyquan Thornton, DeMario Douglas and Bailey Zappe to work out with him at Nike headquarters.

Bourne returned to the Patriots last Sunday night, when he agreed to terms on a 3-year, $19.5 million contract. The team-friendly deal includes just $5.5 million in guarantees, but allows Bourne to guarantee another $2.5 million in 2025 if he reaches 800 receiving yards next season. If he hits all of his incentives, Bourne can make up to $33 million.

New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne reacts after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter of a Sept. 10 game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium. (Staff Photo/Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

The eight-year veteran said he took a hands-off approach to free agency, trusting his agent and the Patriots’ front office to find a fair deal.

“Not really stressing, just knowing what I’m worth, but knowing that’s somewhere I wanted to be. So if that’s what the Patriots felt I was worth, then I was OK with it. (It’s) just negotiating,” Bourne said. “So I was really kind of in the unknown, not really calling and stressing. I was just being calm and going through my normal day.”

He added: “(My agent) read it down to me, and I said, ‘I like the deal.’ I’m not really chasing a billion dollars. I’m chasing legacy.”

Bourne said watching “The Dynasty,” a Patriots documentary currently running on Apple TV+, gave him more motivation to return. Bourne first revealed to ESPN last month that he hoped to re-sign in New England, something he later repeated to other outlets around the Super Bowl.

Now having finally re-signed, Bourne shared some of his goals for the 2024 season.

“I’ve grown here in the first three years, rapidly; just in my personal life, as a football player, and now I want to be a captain. That is my biggest goal this year,” he said. “I want to be a leader. Having the young guys out here has shown me that I am impactful. The energy I carry is impactful.”

But that wasn’t all.

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“These next three years, (winning the) Super Bowl is in there, captain, Comeback Player of the Year, different things personally. But ultimately just being the best teammate I can be, just working and helping others,'” Bourne added.

Bourne also said he’s been in contact with Mac Jones, whom the Patriots traded to Jacksonville last weekend for a sixth-round pick. He said he was happy Jones will have a fresh start elsewhere and can play in his hometown. Bourne said he was nonetheless surprised to see the trade and texted Jones, before hearing from the young quarterback when his new contract was reported later that same night.

Bourne expressed excitement at the idea of working with Zappe, newly-signed veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett and a rookie the Patriots could draft at No. 3 overall.

“I’m really with whatever the team wants to do,” he said. “And whoever comes in … whoever we pick, if that’s gonna be the leader, then just having his back and getting close with him, too, and treating everybody equally.”

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Looking back, Bourne echoed sentiments other Patriots players have shared this offseason, saying he was honored to play for Bill Belichick, though “it was time” for the team and legendary coach to part ways. He’s eager to play for new head coach Jerod Mayo and de facto GM Eliot Wolf, who have separately told reporters they plan to reshape and loosen the team’s culture. Bourne, long recognized as one of the Patriots’ most energetic players, sounded on board with that plan.

“I think (Wolf)’s going to believe in us in a different way than it has been in the past,” he said. “I’m excited for that.”

“You’re on this team for a reason, and that’s what I think the mindset is going to be, the motto; that we always believe in you, but you’ve got to earn what you’ve got and what you get. And I think it’s going to help a lot of our players.”