Roster bubble receiver might have saved his job at Patriots' minicamp

The Patriots are in unfamiliar territory this offseason, with an overloaded receiver room they will need to trim down before the 2024 season. So far, through OTAs and minicamp, the same standouts continue to reign supreme, only for an unexpected player to end spring practices as the one we're all talking about.

Despite his recent troubles with the law, which leaves his status for the upcoming season in question, Kayshon Boutte has surprisingly risen in the ranks recently with his performance during mandatory minicamp.

He has been a player on the roster bubble all offseason, mainly because of the re-signing of Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas's breakout rookie season, and the drafting of Javon Baker and Ja'Lynn Polk. On top of that, his forgettable first year in 2023 ended with Bill Belichick making him a healthy scratch, putting him in a tough position this offseason.

Add all of that to his legal issues, Boutte was one of the few expected to be on the outside looking in.

Fortunately for him, he left a solid impression to end minicamp on Wednesday afternoon, which might save him a spot on the 2024 roster.

Kayshon Boutte stole the show to close out Patriots minicamp

Because he was considered a draft steal last year, as he was previously projected to be a first round pick, there were rumblings that he could have a breakout summer and become the Patriots' secret weapon on offense.

That didn't end up happening, and it was actually Douglas who had that kind of summer. But it looks like Boutte is on that track now as the team takes a summer break before training camp begins in July.

Other receivers have dominated headlines over the last several weeks, but then Boutte showed up and showed out, catching passes left and right from Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye, proving he could work with whichever quarterback is eventually named the official starter.

Many of those passes eventually turned into touchdowns, with Boutte becoming a favorite target for Boutte throughout practice on Wednesday.

It's still very early in the big scheme of things, and it's not uncommon for a player or two to stand out during the least competitive practices of the offseason. However, this is new for Boutte, who had a very slow buildup during last offseason, which never translated into an actual game once the season began.

He had flashes of impressive play near the end of preseason once Douglas was dealing with an injury, but that's where it ended. If he can maintain what he's already shown over the past week into training camp, he might have a real chance of making the team to finish off the receiving corps.

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