It's not that much of a surprise that the New England Patriots opted to trade Kayshon Boutte (he was never going to become their No. 1 option, they weren't going to pay him what he wanted ahead of his free agency next year, they already have a crowded receiver room, and there were reports/rumors that he requested a trade back in April).
Still, New England is going to miss him, and the team will have to figure out how to replace him.
Boutte has gradually improved each year of his three-year NFL career, and he should be in a good spot to take a big leap opposite Nico Collins in the Houston Texans' offense (Jayden Higgins is out for the year, and Tank Dell might not be back this season). Beyond that, though, he quickly became Drake Maye's favorite target, even catching his first career touchdown pass... against the Texans.
With the Boutte trade, Maye is now down another one of his favorite targets from last year (the Patriots waived Stefon Diggs earlier this offseason, and he has since joined the Washington Commanders). New England's receiving corps technically looks better and deeper than it did at this time last year, but the team will miss Boutte for sure.
Kayshon Boutte was a great target for Drake Maye
Boutte was such a good fit in New England because of his presence as a deep threat. The LSU alum is excellent at making tough grabs, can use his physicality to his advantage, and has a great catch radius. He isn't Randy Moss on the field, but it was easy for Maye to trust that Boutte would catch any deep ball he threw to him (which was important, given that the UNC alum is one of the best deep-ball throwers in the game).
It also would have been very exciting to see what Boutte could do as the Patriots' second/third primary receiver. With A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs expected to demand so much attention from opposing defenses, that should open up the rest of the field for New England's weapons, which is exactly where Boutte could have shined.
The Patriots probably weren't wrong to trade Boutte (especially with someone like Kyle Williams waiting in the wings), but his absence is going to be felt. Even though the team still has an incredible receiving room for the first time in a very, very long time, the Louisiana native could have been in for a career year with the team. Hopefully for the Patriots, this move doesn't come back to bite them down the line.
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