It's only been one game, but the New England Patriots are probably already wishing they hadn't traded Kayshon Boutte just before the start of the season.
During New England's ugly 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday, A.J. Brown left the game early due to a high-ankle sprain that will likely keep him sidelined for a bit, Romeo Doubs was a negative factor (if he doesn't drop this pass, the Patriots probably win the game), and DeMario Douglas recorded just 20 yards on five targets.
The Patriots' most reliable receiver going into Week 2 is Mack Hollins, and while he was incredible on Wednesday (four receptions on 51 yards, made multiple clutch plays), this is far from ideal. He's not a No. 1 guy.
I'm not going to say the Patriots should fully regret trading Boutte (there were reports he requested a trade back in April, he was in line for a big payday next offseason, and on paper, he was their third receiver at best), but if they could have a do-over right now, they would probably take it.
The Patriots are already seeing the risk of trading Kayshon Boutte
Boutte alone wouldn't replace Brown's on-field value, but it would certainly help Drake Maye to have another target that he has rapport with, especially in the early stages of this season.
The Patriots went through some big changes to their receiving room this year, fresh off a Super Bowl appearance (IN: Brown and Doubs, OUT: Diggs and Boutte), and while they technically got better on paper, this was still a huge risk.
Maye is still figuring things out at the NFL level. Even though he's going to have Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels for the second year in a row, it was a lot to take away two of his favorite targets in one offseason. It's not to the same extent at all, but we saw this play out with Mac Jones during his time in New England (different offensive coordinator in each season, constant change to the offensive line and receiving corps), and messing with the continuity is never a good thing.
Losing Brown is going to hurt regardless of what the rest of the depth chart looks like. He is easily New England's best receiver, one of the best deep-ball catchers in the game, and the team's whole offense was built around him being the top weapon because of his talent and gravity.
But if the Patriots at least still had Boutte on the roster, then the loss of Brown wouldn't hit as hard as it's going to.
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