One of the biggest surprises of the Patriots' 2025 season so far has been an impressive receiving corps that nobody could have predicted before the year began. There were many concerns about whether the new regime had made enough moves to truly help move the needle for Drake Maye, but it's beyond clear that the wide receiver roster is better than expected.
Much of that has to do with two free agents who were signed earlier this year, Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins, as well as the continued rise of Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas. All have become integral parts of the offense's success, which makes Boutte's hamstring injury during Sunday's game that much more brutal.
He left the game before halftime with a hamstring injury but has since been downgraded to out for the remainder of the game.
WR Kayshon Boutte has been downgraded to OUT. https://t.co/pFpDk6KJaq
— Patriots Communications (@PatriotsComms) November 2, 2025
It's a significant loss with an entire half of football left to be played, and could ultimately impact the Patriots on Sunday and in the weeks ahead, depending on the severity of Boutte's injury.
Losing Kayshon Boutte for any amount of time is a massive loss for the Patriots
After a resurgence during the 2024 season proved he could be a viable threat on the field, Boutte became an explosive weapon that he once was during his days at LSU. The once considered first-round draft pick has displayed those characteristics often this season, and is on path to record over 900 yards this year, a new career high.
The trust between him and Maye is evident, and the duo of Boutte and Diggs has made their offense far more dynamic than they have been in several years.
It makes losing Boutte a bit more concerning than it might otherwise be, especially considering a hamstring injury can keep a player off the field for several weeks. We saw that to start the year with Christian Gonzalez, who dealt with that injury from the summer.
The hope, of course, is that it's nothing serious for Boutte, and it's more precautionary to keep him sidelined for the rest of Sunday's game. That's better in the long run, and the offense has appeared solid against the Falcons with Diggs, Douglas, and Hunter Henry moving the chains.