The Patriots entered the offseason with high expectations to improve their roster, whether through free agency signings or trades. The assumption was that they would be the team diving headfirst into a blockbuster deal for a top offensive player, such as a wide receiver, rather than shipping players away, and so far, that hasn't been the plan they have followed.
Instead, they signed Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins in free agency and selected Kyle Williams in the draft, along with a few players signed as UDFAs. That now has the receiving corps up to 12 players during OTAs, with inevitable cuts set to happen sooner rather than later; some of whom have already found themselves involved in trade rumors, like Kayshon Boutte.
The third-year player had a virtually nonexistent rookie season in 2023, but flourished much more during the chaotic lone season under Jerod Mayo. As a result, there has been considerable excitement surrounding his potential in Year 2 with Drake Maye under center, but he's also viewed as one of the better trade options for the Patriots to consider ahead of the start of the season.
That prompted reporters to ask him about the chatter during Wednesday's practice, to which Boutte let his feelings be known rather certainly.
Kayshon Boutte is not interested in the ongoing rumors about his potential trade availability
Because he's still considered a roster bubble player, taking a backseat to several players despite proving his productivity last year, Boutte isn't fond of the trade talk. But at the same time, he seems to be trying to let it roll off his back and not let it distract him from the ultimate task at hand, which is to make the 2025 roster.
“I heard about it, but I tried not to really put too much time into that. You know, there’s just a lot of people just sitting behind phones and just typing. It’s got nothing to really do with me.
We’ve got a lot of guys … 12 of us. At the end of the day, there will probably be six of us, if we are being honest. Every day is another opportunity to get better and be great. We all know we’re in competition, but it’s up to us at the end of the day.”
At this stage in the offseason, it's unclear what the new regime will do with the roster and who should be immediately deemed safe or not. It's easy to assume that a player like Boutte could be on the outside looking in once the season begins, but because Vrabel and Co. have made it clear they want to build a young team that can develop together over the next few years, it wouldn't make sense to move on from Boutte already.
Despite that, he will have to have a standout summer to prove his worth to the new coaching staff, as he has no ties to any of them that could potentially secure his position. Unfortunately, he will have a lot of competition to earn that spot in the receiver's room against players like Javon Baker, Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, and Ja'Lynn Polk.
He certainly has factors working in his favor, and his performance during the 2024 season could provide an excellent foundation for him to build upon. If he can continue to impress on the field from now until the preseason, there's no reason to believe he won't make the team.
But it will take a lot of hard work and dedication to lock it up early. Boutte has shown a lot of promising attributes that could make that happen; we'll just have to watch and see if it does.