FOXBORO – The Patriots could use a boost four games into the 2024 season, and they might get one with three players returning to practice this week.

Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (knee), linebacker Sione Takitaki (knee) and safety Marte Mapu (calf) all practiced Wednesday, starting the clock on their return to the Patriots as soon as they were allowed. Bourne and Takitaki started the season on the PUP list after not practicing throughout training camp, and Mapu was placed on injured reserve/designated to return during roster cuts.

The timing couldn’t be better for their returns. The Patriots have lacked productivity in the passing game during their 1-3 start, and Bourne has the potential to be their best wide receiver. Their defense is also struggling after losing starting linebacker and captain Ja’Whaun Bentley to a pectoral injury. In Mapu’s return to the practice field Wednesday, the Patriots were without starting safeties Kyle Dugger (ankle) and Jabrill Peppers (shoulder).

Here’s how the three players can help the Patriots in their returns:

WR Kendrick Bourne

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett has been constantly under siege behind a leaky offensive line this season, and he’s thrown for just 536 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in four starts.

DeMario Douglas (12 catches, 94 yards) and Ja’Lynn Polk (eight catches, 61 yards, touchdown) have shown potential as the Patriots’ leading wide receivers, but Brissett is struggling to find them. You’d be hard-pressed to find a weaker wide receiver corps than what the Patriots have been trotting out through four weeks.

Enter Bourne, who doesn’t have chemistry with Brissett after sitting out all spring and summer since tearing his ACL last October, but he does bring plenty of NFL experience. Bourne caught 37 passes for 406 yards with four touchdowns in eight games last season before hitting injured reserve.

“His ability to want to get open and run with the ball after the catch are things that he does extremely well,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Thursday. “Really excited for him. I know he’s worked extremely hard to get back, and we’re excited.”

The Patriots don’t have a traditional “X” wide receiver on their roster, but they can make do with Bourne, Polk and Douglas as their starters. As long as Bourne is healthy and hasn’t lost his speed and quickness, he should provide a dependable option for Brissett.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Patriots move a wide receiver off of their roster. Beyond Polk and Douglas, they also have K.J. Osborn (five catches, 31 yards), Tyquan Thornton (two catches, 27 yards), Kayshon Boutte (two catches, 13 yards) and rookie Javon Baker. Osborn is currently dealing with a shoulder injury.

S Marte Mapu

If Dugger and Peppers continue to miss time, then Jaylinn Hawkins and Dell Pettus would be next up on the safety depth chart unless Mapu is ready to go.

Mapu’s strength is supposed to be his versatility. The 2023 third-round pick out of Sacramento State is a hybrid linebacker/safety. He spent considerable time in college at slot cornerback, as well.

Mapu’s return can ease the loss of Dugger in the interim. Once Dugger and Peppers are back on the field, however, Mapu can potentially play all over the field as a box safety, third-down linebacker and potentially taking on tight end and bigger wide receivers 1-on-1 in the slot.

“It’s great, great to have him back,” defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington said of Mapu on Thursday. “Glad to see him out there yesterday. He’s a smart player who’s been preparing. This dude is like a coach in the classroom, the way he prepares and the question that he asks. I always thought you know how smart a person is, period, by the questions they ask. So his questions, high level questions. You know he’s thinking about stuff in the playbook, even though he wasn’t technically able to play the first four weeks. And he’s been like that since I had him in the Senior Bowl.”

Mapu didn’t carve out a major role as a rookie for the Patriots in 2023, but injuries might demand that he takes on more snaps this season.

LB Sione Takitaki

If Takitaki had been healthy to start the season, he likely would have been the Patriots’ No. 3 linebacker. So, when Bentley went down, it would have been Takitaki, not Raekwon McMillan, to step up.

Takitaki, who’s played 72 career games since being drafted by the Browns in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, might need a ramp-up period, but he should start to eat into McMillan’s snaps. Most of his experience has come off the ball at linebacker, but he has played an “adjustor” role as well, sliding down to the line of scrimmage as an outside linebacker.

The Patriots could use help at both spots. They lacked a solid edge-setter last week when Anfernee Jennings missed Sunday’s loss to the 49ers with a shoulder injury. And Takitaki could be an upgrade over McMillan in Bentley’s old spot.

“I would say that’s part of the reason why we signed him,” Covington said of Takitaki’s versatility. “And the difference with Takitaki is Marte has been with been with us in the past. He’s practiced with us. We’re just now seeing like Takitaki actually on the practice field. So that’s really a difference there. And he’s able to be in as a New England Patriot. What we know is what he did with the Browns. So we just got to see him on the practice field, get him comfortable in the roles, and at the same time, we know him in the classroom, we just got to get to know him on the field.”

The Patriots signed Takitaki to a two-year, $6.645 million contract this offseason.