Boutte available for trade?

[Wozzy]

he is not distracting if he is not there
I listed 4 teams with reported interest. also injuries happen over the summer
they could trade him on June 2. they could trade him on August 2

It’s already a distraction. They’ll want a fresh start for the season.

Teams will need the cap space to absorb the contract, the wherewithal to outbid other teams, AJ will want to go there, it will likely have to be in the AFC. The options are limited.

Similar to the entire offseason JimmyG was on the market with nobody offering a first, the best offers are already on the table. These things happen months before we hear the final deal. If teams aren’t willing to pay a first before, they’re not changing their mind and swooping in at the last second.

 

[Wozzy]

My inclination is our team wants AJ in camp to build the offense around him and to get a connection with Drake.. that's why June and not August.. this is something likely pushed from our side.. as your correct it can also be August as well.. nonetheless with or without Boutte I believe Drake is going to have a stellar season.

I’d reiterate, with or without Brown… Boutte may likely be traded.

 

[rkarp1]

It’s already a distraction. They’ll want a fresh start for the season.

Teams will need the cap space to absorb the contract, the wherewithal to outbid other teams, AJ will want to go there, it will likely have to be in the AFC. The options are limited.

Similar to the entire offseason JimmyG was on the market with nobody offering a first, the best offers are already on the table. These things happen months before we hear the final deal. If teams aren’t willing to pay a first before, they’re not changing their mind and swooping in at the last second.

Micah Parsons was traded last August 2025
Matt Judon was traded August 2024
stay in your lane.
you are embarrassing yourself

 

[Wozzy]

Micah Parsons was traded last August 2025
Matt Judon was traded August 2024
stay in your lane.
you are embarrassing yourself

Neither player was asking to be traded a year earlier. My lane is pointing out your foolishness.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I am arguing the other side of the argument. So it may look like I am more down on Boutte. But I like the guy.

Once the Pats trade for Brown, he becomes the third best WR on this team. And unless they want to move Doubs to the slot, he has no place in the starting line up. And he isn't going to be happy being a back up in a contract year. He isn't a guy the Pats have to have on the roster with AJ Brown there.

But Diggs (83.3% catch rate) and Hollins (70.7%) were both in the 70% catch club. So was Stevenson (86.5%). So was Henderson (83%). So was Hooper (80.8%). If you want to count him Chism was perfect 3 for 3. Henry was about 68% and Pop was 67%. But both those guys had some issues with drops at times this season. Only Williams had poor or even average catch percentage (47.6%). Maye is so accurate that if he continues to be that way this year, he can make a lot WRs part of the 70% club. Boutte's catch rate was in line with the rest of his receivers. It wasn't an abnormality.

If they keep Boutte, I won't be upset one bit. If they trade him away, I won't be upset one bit. He is a good receiver. But he is going to be a back up on this team. And with the addition of Brown, the receiver is corp is very deep and strong. It doesn't need Boutte. He would be more of a luxury than a need.

But the problem is Boutte doesn't want that. And with his past history of maturity issues, you probably don't want him on the team and unhappy. His rookie year, he literally walked out of practice and told the team he was retiring.

Okay, sorry to chase my tail on who's who and who's making which argument.

I agree, good problems to have. And I'll add, re: Drake Maye, wow. Again.

I know we had a soft schedule, but wow.

2023

• DeMario Douglas: 62.0% catch rate (49 receptions on 79 Targets)
• Hunter Henry: 68.9% catch rate (42 receptions on 61 Targets)
• Kendrick Bourne: 67.3% catch rate (37 receptions on 55 Targets)
• DeVante Parker: 60.0% catch rate (33 receptions on 55 Targets)
• JuJu Smith-Schuster: 61.7% catch rate (29 receptions on 47 Targets) [1, 2, 3, 4]

That's Mac and Cheeeeese Jones, of course. Nice to have Pop as an apples-to-apples comparison, even if he was second year vs. 4th year last year. And the other apples-to-apples piece, Henry, ticked a tiny bit up from 68.9% to 70%.

We'll see how much change there is vs. higher level of competition, but 2025 Drake numbers give me a tingly feeling for now.

So yeah, everyone can kind of win if Boutte wants out now, assuming we get something to work with out of it. If it's him saying "what do I want to get injured for if I'm looking at the free market next year," that's a little different. Re: the slot, he's an outside-the-numbers guy, Doubs is him plus 10 yards per game, whereas Pop is a slot guy through and through. Slot guy gets to be on the field even with two outside guys. I don't know why we gamble on Doubs and Boutte becoming what Douglas is.

Now, can Boutte win the battle over Doubs even when we just dropped a bunch of cash on Doubs, assuming the unproven premise that Brown is the new, younger Diggs, who from now on won't have injury problems?

Here's Doubs, 2025:

• Receptions: 55
• Targets: 85
• Receiving Yards: 724
• Touchdowns: 6
• Yards per Catch: 13.2

Advanced Metrics (via PFF)

• Yards After Catch (YAC): 163
• Average Depth of Target (aDOT): \(13.2\) yards
• Total Drops: 3

His yards are way higher, but every other stat is similar to Boutte or less impressive. TD the same, lower catch percentage, lower yards per catch, though we are chalking up Boutte's reliability to Maye and I'm sure we're chalking up all Boutte's abilities to the soft schedule to an extent.

We're paying Doubs 68M-80M over 4 years to be Boutte plus 10 yards per game. If you don't mind throwing to him a few extra times to get the 10 yards.

Now, I get that we're crossing our fingers and hoping that Doubs blossoms into something more, I guess? And we think that we've seen all there is to see in Boutte?

Or is it something to do with Boutte being and appearing threatened by a new receiver we've already got a commitment to?

I dunno. Seems that he doesn't want to take any chances of getting hurt, which incidentally looks the same as him saying he's displeased. Shrug.

As of right now, and I know I'm repeating myself, until the ink is dry on Brown, we've got two young outside guys with a shot at making some noise, assuming we don't sign up Diggs for one more tour.

In "win now" terms, that's obviously backsliding, and as of now, Keshon & we & the internet think it won't happen. But even if we were to sign up Diggs one more year, he's gone sooner than later unless there's avocado ice cream or the blood of ritually sacrificed virgins involved.

So yeah, all I am saying here is that if we assume the facts not in evidence -- that Brown is a NE Patriot and the rest is maneuvering and commentary -- a trade makes sense. But again, it just isn't the done deal we act like it is. If we don't know the Brown answer and don't move on to another answer at "WR1" (e.g., the unlikely Diggs return,) we still need (not want, need) Boutte, and a hatful of hope, to not slide backwards this year. (With Kyle Williams the only low percentage target in the bunch. Oh, I know, long balls only, but that's a little specialized to suddenly become a WR1.)

All this stuff looks great right now and looks like ****e as soon as guys get injured. You're absolutely stacked at a position until a guy goes down, then you're on the warning track. There just aren't big enough rosters.

So yeah, I guess to be nice and to snag a smidgen of upside while it's available, you move Boutte, preferably after the need exists to walk into talks saying "Oh we've got another good outside receiver, watch him shine without Diggs opposite him. We can take or leave this AJ Brown guy."

So the "trade Boutte" thing can be a theme until the Brown talks are over, at least.

Sorry if all this has been said, pretty much everything has been. This is what procrastination looks like.

 

[Rob0729]

Okay, sorry to chase my tail on who's who and who's making which argument.

I agree, good problems to have. And I'll add, re: Drake Maye, wow. Again.

I know we had a soft schedule, but wow.

2023

• DeMario Douglas: 62.0% catch rate (49 receptions on 79 Targets)
• Hunter Henry: 68.9% catch rate (42 receptions on 61 Targets)
• Kendrick Bourne: 67.3% catch rate (37 receptions on 55 Targets)
• DeVante Parker: 60.0% catch rate (33 receptions on 55 Targets)
• JuJu Smith-Schuster: 61.7% catch rate (29 receptions on 47 Targets) [1, 2, 3, 4]

That's Mac and Cheeeeese Jones, of course. Nice to have Pop as an apples-to-apples comparison, even if he was second year vs. 4th year last year. And the other apples-to-apples piece, Henry, ticked a tiny bit up from 68.9% to 70%.

We'll see how much change there is vs. higher level of competition, but 2025 Drake numbers give me a tingly feeling for now.

So yeah, everyone can kind of win if Boutte wants out now, assuming we get something to work with out of it. If it's him saying "what do I want to get injured for if I'm looking at the free market next year," that's a little different. Re: the slot, he's an outside-the-numbers guy, Doubs is him plus 10 yards per game, whereas Pop is a slot guy through and through. Slot guy gets to be on the field even with two outside guys. I don't know why we gamble on Doubs and Boutte becoming what Douglas is.

Now, can Boutte win the battle over Doubs even when we just dropped a bunch of cash on Doubs, assuming the unproven premise that Brown is the new, younger Diggs, who from now on won't have injury problems?

Here's Doubs, 2025:

• Receptions: 55
• Targets: 85
• Receiving Yards: 724
• Touchdowns: 6
• Yards per Catch: 13.2

Advanced Metrics (via PFF)

• Yards After Catch (YAC): 163
• Average Depth of Target (aDOT): \(13.2\) yards
• Total Drops: 3

His yards are way higher, but every other stat is similar to Boutte or less impressive. TD the same, lower catch percentage, lower yards per catch, though we are chalking up Boutte's reliability to Maye and I'm sure we're chalking up all Boutte's abilities to the soft schedule to an extent.

We're paying Doubs 68M-80M over 4 years to be Boutte plus 10 yards per game. If you don't mind throwing to him a few extra times to get the 10 yards.

Now, I get that we're crossing our fingers and hoping that Doubs blossoms into something more, I guess? And we think that we've seen all there is to see in Boutte?

Or is it something to do with Boutte being and appearing threatened by a new receiver we've already got a commitment to?

I dunno. Seems that he doesn't want to take any chances of getting hurt, which incidentally looks the same as him saying he's displeased. Shrug.

As of right now, and I know I'm repeating myself, until the ink is dry on Brown, we've got two young outside guys with a shot at making some noise, assuming we don't sign up Diggs for one more tour.

In "win now" terms, that's obviously backsliding, and as of now, Keshon & we & the internet think it won't happen. But even if we were to sign up Diggs one more year, he's gone sooner than later unless there's avocado ice cream or the blood of ritually sacrificed virgins involved.

So yeah, all I am saying here is that if we assume the facts not in evidence -- that Brown is a NE Patriot and the rest is maneuvering and commentary -- a trade makes sense. But again, it just isn't the done deal we act like it is. If we don't know the Brown answer and don't move on to another answer at "WR1" (e.g., the unlikely Diggs return,) we still need (not want, need) Boutte, and a hatful of hope, to not slide backwards this year. (With Kyle Williams the only low percentage target in the bunch. Oh, I know, long balls only, but that's a little specialized to suddenly become a WR1.)

All this stuff looks great right now and looks like ****e as soon as guys get injured. You're absolutely stacked at a position until a guy goes down, then you're on the warning track. There just aren't big enough rosters.

So yeah, I guess to be nice and to snag a smidgen of upside while it's available, you move Boutte, preferably after the need exists to walk into talks saying "Oh we've got another good outside receiver, watch him shine without Diggs opposite him. We can take or leave this AJ Brown guy."

So the "trade Boutte" thing can be a theme until the Brown talks are over, at least.

Sorry if all this has been said, pretty much everything has been. This is what procrastination looks like.

Boutte could beat out Doubs if he doesn't get traded, but I tend to doubt it. If the Patriots, who know Boutte better than any of us, thought it was more important to pay Doubs than Boutte, there is very little chance Boutte makes his way into the starting line up other than if Doubs is moved to the slot and Boutte is moved to the Z.

What Doubs did in Green Bay isn't a fair comparison. The Packers' offense is designed to not have primary WRs even though Doubs led the team in almost every stat.

Again, Boutte is a good player, but I think he is another one of those players that people think we need to keep at all cost (or at least make a strong effort to keep) that will be all but forgotten by midseason after he leaves.

 

[Real fan 02]

I’d reiterate, with or without Brown… Boutte may likely be traded.

I'm looking at the fact even with Diggs& Boutte on the roster Vrabel was still looking to upgrade.. AJ became a reality so he pursued it.. no matter we are going to be a physical running move the line of scrimmage offense..

 

[Real fan 02]

Boutte could beat out Doubs if he doesn't get traded, but I tend to doubt it. If the Patriots, who know Boutte better than any of us, thought it was more important to pay Doubs than Boutte, there is very little chance Boutte makes his way into the starting line up other than if Doubs is moved to the slot and Boutte is moved to the Z.

What Doubs did in Green Bay isn't a fair comparison. The Packers' offense is designed to not have primary WRs even though Doubs led the team in almost every stat.

Again, Boutte is a good player, but I think he is another one of those players that people think we need to keep at all cost (or at least make a strong effort to keep) that will be all but forgotten by midseason after he leaves.

Doubs is better player. Boutte could see a Doubs contract next season if he plays his cards right wherever he plays in 2026-27

Romeo Doubs | NFL Contracts & Salaries | Spotrac.com

Romeo Doubs signed a 4 year, $68,000,000 contract with the New England Patriots with an average annual salary of $17,000,000.

www.spotrac.com

 

[rkarp1]

I'm looking at the fact even with Diggs& Boutte on the roster Vrabel was still looking to upgrade.. AJ became a reality so he pursued it.. no matter we are going to be a physical running move the line of scrimmage offense..

I think the team is always and will always look to improve at every and any position.
I am pretty confident that the Diggs contract was structured to be a 1 and done deal.
If the Brown deal does not happen, it would not surprise me to see both Boutte and Diggs here this season

 

[Real fan 02]

I think the team is always and will always look to improve at every and any position.
I am pretty confident that the Diggs contract was structured to be a 1 and done deal.
If the Brown deal does not happen, it would not surprise me to see both Boutte and Diggs here this season

It's pretty imminent post June 1.. sources have indicated the team and eagles likely already have a verbal agreement and it's with the league office obviously no one can sign off on anything until June 1.. if this somehow doesn't happen what a big **** show would this be.. I'd like Diggs back he was great last season..

 

[Bill Lee]

It's pretty imminent post June 1..

Pretty imminent: is that like jumbo shrimp?

if this somehow doesn't happen what a big **** show would this be..

I'm sure the media would go ape **** if we don't have something by mid-day June 2nd, but that's how they make their living, by going ape **** over things they've been hyping for weeks.

I'd like Diggs back he was great last season..

Me too, but a recent boston.com article suggests the Patriots front office is pretty meh about that whole idea.

 

[Rob0729]

Giardi says the rest of the league sees Boutte as a #4 WR on a good team and don't see him able to make a jump.

 

[rkarp1]

 

[Rob0729]

The Rams would have to overpay for him. No way Roseman is trading Brown to a Super Bowl contender in conference without them overpaying.

And until I hear any team actually making an effort, I look at these stories as pure speculation to try to generate interest in the story since the most likely outcome is the obvious one.

 

[Rob0729]

It's pretty imminent post June 1.. sources have indicated the team and eagles likely already have a verbal agreement and it's with the league office obviously no one can sign off on anything until June 1.. if this somehow doesn't happen what a big **** show would this be.. I'd like Diggs back he was great last season..

Diggs is signing with the Commanders.

If the Brown deal doesn't happen, the Pats should go after Brian Thomas or swing for the fences to try to trade for someone like Justin Jefferson (highly unlikely he would be traded), Drake London, Chris Olave, or someone else.

But I still don't see Brown going anywhere else than the Patriots. The Jags and Rams stuff is more speculation than any real intel.

 

[Wozzy]

I'm looking at the fact even with Diggs& Boutte on the roster Vrabel was still looking to upgrade.. AJ became a reality so he pursued it.. no matter we are going to be a physical running move the line of scrimmage offense..

Agreed. it’s a common thread at every position group.

 

[Real fan 02]

Diggs is signing with the Commanders.

If the Brown deal doesn't happen, the Pats should go after Brian Thomas or swing for the fences to try to trade for someone like Justin Jefferson (highly unlikely he would be traded), Drake London, Chris Olave, or someone else.

But I still don't see Brown going anywhere else than the Patriots. The Jags and Rams stuff is more speculation than any real intel.

I saw some reports Diggs wanted to go back to the DMV area where he is from good move for him.. he will be a nice veteran for Daniel's to lean on in games. Brian Thomas absolutely! On Jefferson with those two midget QBs that can't see over the offensive line he's going to grown frustrating seeing his production dip.. it's a matter of time before that whole QB situation goes up in smoke and McConnell is gone. Brown is a Patriot and post June 1 will become official..

He was reported meeting with a housing manager or something last week here..

 

[Real fan 02]

Pretty imminent: is that like jumbo shrimp?



I'm sure the media would go ape **** if we don't have something by mid-day June 2nd, but that's how they make their living, by going ape **** over things they've been hyping for weeks.



Me too, but a recent boston.com article suggests the Patriots front office is pretty meh about that whole idea.

Agreed here Bill. For this not to happen would be some complete and utter ****erey..

Well depends on what reports we read I suppose these days...

I'm leaning towards more it's Boutte's camp that is likely pushing a trade then necessarily the team.. Boutte's seems to see the writing on the wall per se?

 

[Bill Lee]

I'm leaning towards more it's Boutte's camp that is likely pushing a trade then necessarily the team.. Boutte's seems to see the writing on the wall per se?

It also seems like his team has over-played their hand.

It seems like the rest of the league just isn't buying what they are selling.

And, if we're being honest, the fact we didn't extend him ourselves kind of says a lot.

 

[upstater1]

33 catches (125th in the league last year) for 551 yards (72nd) and 6 TDs (26th) in 14 games. That is 2.4 catches for 39.4 yards and .43 TDs a game last year.

He was also 42nd in the league in big reception plays (over 20 yards) with 10. That isn’t great for an X receiver. Both Diggs and Henry had more. And Hollins had two less with 8 as a back up player (and he had more receptions and the same amount of yards as Boutte).

You are just cherry picking stats. The fact is he showed flashes of greatness and disappeared for long stretches. Just because you think he shouldn’t be penalized for not getting open because he is good contested catch guy doesn’t change the fact he wasn’t getting open enough.

And he produced in the first 2 playoff games when no one else did.

He went out early against Atlanta, by the way. His lack of production there was a natural consequence of not even playing 3/4s of the game. He also got a concussion against the Ravens. He returned in 2 weeks from the hamstring injury and missed only one game because of the concussion. Given the injuries, he played 13 games overall this year.

He was our downfield threat and if you project his numbers out to a full 17 games from 13, his numbers compare with downfield threat guys like Alec Pierce.

Pierce averages 42 receptions, 18.7 YPC, 50% success rate.

I'll say it again even though I've said it a bazillion times, the downfield guys are targeted less AND they also have a lower success rate.

Alec Pierce just signed a huge contract. His numbers are similar to Boutte's.