The New England Patriots traded Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans just a few days ago, and while the fanbase is split on the decision, that doesn't change the fact that this is further proof that the team has depth in its receiving corps for the first time in years.
It's been a long time since New England had real depth at receiver. They haven't had it like this in Drake Maye's career yet. Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe never had it. Cam Newton didn't have it. And even up til the end of the Tom Brady days, the Patriots hadn't had legitimate receiver depth since maybe 2018 (Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Josh Gordon, Cordarrelle Patterson, Philip Dorsett).
They finally have it now with A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, and Kyle Williams (and I guess Efton Chism). Obviously, keeping Boutte into the season would have made this corps even stronger for New England, but regardless, the team and fanbase should be happy with where things stand.
The Patriots have a great receiving room even without Kayshon Boutte
After the Patriots' loss to the Cleveland Browns in preseason on Thursday, head coach Mike Vrabel spoke about Boutte and said he was likely going to be inactive for most games, mostly because he doesn't play on special teams, had the trade not happened.
“That was one place where we do have some depth,” Vrabel said about the Patriots' receiving corps. “I think for all parties involved, [the trade] was probably the best thing. Without injuries, Kayshon probably would have been inactive, unfortunately, because it’s kind of the way it was. It’s just him not playing special teams."
Would this have actually happened? There's no way of knowing. But the fact that it seemed like a real possibility is a testament to how good the Patriots' receivers are.
Even without Boutte, New England should feel confident that it is putting Maye and the rest of the offense in a good position to succeed. And that wasn't something the team could confidently say over the last few years.
The Patriots will miss the LSU alum. He developed into a great deep threat and quickly became one of Maye's favorite targets. And even if you agreed with the team's decision to trade Boutte (he was entering the final year of his contract, the deal opens the door for players like Williams to make an impact, this gives them more flexibility to re-sign Douglas, etc), it's fair to say they maybe should've gotten more for him than Jaylen Reed and a 2028 seventh-round pick.
But at the same time, the fact that the Patriots weren't desperate to keep him around and could feel good about trading him is something fans should be happy about. It's been a long time coming, but they finally have real weapons on offense.
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