Guregian: Boutte Requested a Trade Back in April

[rabidfireweasel]

I think Kayshon Boutte has very little trade value. Think of the situation if it was reversed: how much would you want the Patriots to trade in draft capital for a former 6th round draft pick who is entering his 4th year in the league, has never cracked 600 yards in a season, has less than 10 career touchdowns, and will be a free agent at the end of the season- so he is a rental unless you are going to sign him to an extension. He has too much baggage to sign to an extension until you get a good long look at him.

It is just hard to see where a team would be willing to trade much for him. Maybe it is a possibility that there are trade escalators with snap counts (like the Aaron Rodgers trade), but those deals are quite rare.

 

[Wozzy]

Be realistic. Boutte didn’t get max opportunities despite gettIng lots of snaps. He was seldom first read. That was Diggs.

Diggs is listed at 6’0”, Boutte was a bit more than 5’11”, so not much difference there. Diggs is listed as running the forty in 4.46; Boutte ran 4.50, so 0.04 difference.

Boutte has a history and reputation to overcome. Let’s see how he does.

You can’t say Boutte who almost led the team in WR snaps (2nd) didn’t get opportunities.

Get open more, if he did Drake would have found him more.

 

[n1997y]

You can’t say Boutte who almost led the team in WR snaps (2nd) didn’t get opportunities.

Get open more, if he did Drake would have found him more.

No we’ve been told how Drake worked the progressions the way they were designed. If Diggs was the first read Boutte may have counted that snap but it wasn’t really an opportunity for him the way it was for Diggs.

 

[Wozzy]

This is wrong. The best 3 WRs are Brown, Doubs, and Boutte. Every WR runs from the slot. The slot is not exclusive to short passes over the middle. One of the 3 will align in the slot and who it is will vary.
A guy like Douglass may come in on 3rd and 4-6. We threw 26 passes last year on 3rd and 4- 6.
Open your mind and learn about the game.

Demario is running as the #1 slot guy in camp right now… maybe you better open up your mind and learn what the coaching staff already know.

 

[Wozzy]

No we’ve been told how Drake worked the progressions the way they were designed. If Diggs was the first read Boutte may have counted that snap but it wasn’t really an opportunity for him the way it was for Diggs.

Boutte has basically led this team in snaps three years in a row. Stop with the excuses.

If Boutte was going to develop into a 1000+ yard WR, it would have happened already.

 

[Ring 6]

Demario is running as the #1 slot guy in camp right now… maybe you better open up your mind and learn what the coaching staff already know.

Douglass will not get 1st, 2nd or 3rd most snaps of the WRs. Not a prayer in the world. Again, learn the game.

 

[Ring 6]

Boutte has basically led this team in snaps three years in a row. Stop with the excuses.

If Boutte was going to develop into a 1000+ yard WR, it would have happened already.

What? Boutte player 110 snaps on 2023.

Many WRs take more than 1500 snaps to develop into 1000 yard a year receivers.

 

[Ring 6]

No we’ve been told how Drake worked the progressions the way they were designed. If Diggs was the first read Boutte may have counted that snap but it wasn’t really an opportunity for him the way it was for Diggs.

Anyone who understands the game and watched the Patriots understands that Bouttes role included often being the guy who runs the route to pull coverage that is least likely to be open but high reward when he does.
The boundary receiver who runs mostly go routes isn’t getting lot of targets, that’s not the role. Boutte was excellent last year, making big plays and drawing coverage.

 

[mayoclinic]

I know the narrative has sort of been that the Patriots were shopping Boutte, but it sounds like he potentially initiated things:

This is from Karen Guregian:

"According to a source, Boutte, seeing the direction the receiver room was headed, requested a trade as far back as April. But the Patriots haven't been able to get the best bang for their buck.

One report suggested the most the Patriots could get in return was a fifth or sixth-round pick.

That's not good enough. It would be crazy to just give him away. If they're going to deal him, the Patriots should be blown away by the return."

https://www.masslive.com/patriots/2026/07/the-patriots-are-stuck-in-a-catch-22-with-drake-mayes-long-ball-favorite-karen-guregian.html

Complete agreement there is no need to trade Boutte for peanuts. They will get that and more in comp puck value if he walks after 2026.

Boutte is a quality player. Awesome WR3, decent WR2, still getting better. He should either be kept or be traded for significant compensation - a starting or major contributing player, or a 3rd round draft pick.

 

[Wozzy]

Douglass will not get 1st, 2nd or 3rd most snaps of the WRs. Not a prayer in the world. Again, learn the game.

We have no clue what WR’s will even be on the team, so pipe down.

 

[Wozzy]

What? Boutte player 110 snaps on 2023.

Many WRs take more than 1500 snaps to develop into 1000 yard a year receivers.

He ranked #1 in WR snaps in 2024 and #2 in WR snaps in 2025… he had 500+ yards both seasons.

The delusion that with more opportunities Boutte would somehow develop into AJ Brown is some real homer koolade.

 

[Bill Lee]

I think Kayshon Boutte has very little trade value. Think of the situation if it was reversed: how much would you want the Patriots to trade in draft capital for a former 6th round draft pick who is entering his 4th year in the league, has never cracked 600 yards in a season, has less than 10 career touchdowns, and will be a free agent at the end of the season- so he is a rental unless you are going to sign him to an extension. He has too much baggage to sign to an extension until you get a good long look at him.

It is just hard to see where a team would be willing to trade much for him. Maybe it is a possibility that there are trade escalators with snap counts (like the Aaron Rodgers trade), but those deals are quite rare.

Thing about Boutte os that twams don’t forget their own pre-draft intel.

Obviously teams took him off draft board because of the gambling thing, but there was also concern about attitude and character. While he seems to have been a good soldier, those SAME concerns resurface when considering giving a player more money than they have ever had.

Gotta be very careful giving certain personalities life-changing $.

Fair or not, Boutte is being dinged for who he was at 20 years old.

Market uas spoken…no team believes him worth more than a late round flyer.

Put these two together and ask yourself how much our team would give up for that player, especially given there's a good chance you can get him for nothing after cut-down day.

Gotta say, addictions are indeed persistent things. You can get on top of them, but gotta stay vigilant. Things like change of environment, influx of wealth can make that hard to do.

 

[Bill Lee]

Yeah, not going away because the sports talk radio crowd seems to have made a story up and need to continue to justify it.

I was giving Karen G the benefit of the doubt, but as always, once talk radio knows the fan base is triggered by an issue, they beat it to death.

So interested to see how much mental bandwidth we give away to someone who is so deep down our WR depth chart, and a developmental rookie DL.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

Hey, if AJ Brown or Romeo Doubs or Kyle Williams or SOMEBODY actually secures the trust of our young franchise QB like Boutte has, then sure, move on, but for now, keep your franchise QB happy.

 

[mgteich]

Put these two together and ask yourself how much our team would give up for that player, especially given there's a good chance you can get him for nothing after cut-down day.

Yes, if you are likely to be the ONLY team interested, then it is silly to give up a pick. The team would simply wait.

More likely is that there will be more than one team interested in any player who has had even a modicum of success, unless his contract is prohibitive.

My position, especially if one is low on the waiver wire list, is that you have to pay if you want a player who is likely to contribute this year. I have suggested some positions where we might give say a 6th for a player before he is waived and we have little chance to get him.

To be clear, last year we were 3rd (?) on the claim list for each player waived. We were able to secure DiVIto, Woods and Gregory. We wouldn't even get those players this year. We did get Darden after the claim process, not exactly a highly sought after player.

BOTTOM LINE
As always, there will be trades in the week before the final cut, almost all for a 6th or less. Also, there will be some players that a team keeps on the 53 with the intention to waive him in the next few days after teams see who they were able to secure. The team would then trade the player or waive him if there are still no offers. We did that in 2024.

 

[Wozzy]

Yes, if you are likely to be the ONLY team interested, then it is silly to give up a pick. The team would simply wait.

More likely is that there will be more than one team interested in any player who has had even a modicum of success, unless his contract is prohibitive.

My position, especially if one is low on the waiver wire list, is that you have to pay if you want a player who is likely to contribute this year. I have suggested some positions where we might give say a 6th for a player before he is waived and we have little chance to get him.

To be clear, last year we were 3rd (?) on the claim list for each player waived. We were able to secure DiVIto, Woods and Gregory. We wouldn't even get those players this year. We did get Darden after the claim process, not exactly a highly sought after player.

BOTTOM LINE
As always, there will be trades in the week before the final cut, almost all for a 6th or less. Also, there will be some players that a team keeps on the 53 with the intention to waive him in the next few days after teams see who they were able to secure. The team would then trade the player or waive him if there are still no offers. We did that in 2024.

Boutte for a late round pick isn’t a notion because the people suggesting it dislike the player.

The team that trades for him has to pay him, the team that traded for Jimmy G had to pay him, same with every player in this position.

Fans have to understand “value” and how trades happen, take personal feelings out of the equation.

 

[Triumph]

Are you suggesting that Douglas is more valuable to the 2026 patriots than Boutte? If so, I strongly disagree.

Well, I have never seen a WR that asked to be traded benefit the same team that he is at odds with unless he got his wish.

Furthermore, the Patriots went out and signed Doubs for a reason.

And, sure, I understand a young player being upset that we drafted Doubs and were planning to add Brown. Surely, Boutte thinks that he is arguably as good and as valuable to the patriots as Doubs.

If the Pats thought the same they would not have signed Doubs.

That being said, there is no reason to believe that Boutte wouldn't be an asset to the 2026 patriots.

Despite Bottes great camp thus far, I would not be shocked to see him traded.

 

[TheRainMaker]

The team that trades for him has to pay him, the team that traded for Jimmy G had to pay him, same with every player in this position.

Fans have to understand “value” and how trades happen, take personal feelings out of the equation.

Teams don’t have to do anything especially if you’re only giving up a late round pick. 49ers traded a 2nd for Jimmy, but he didn’t get paid right away.

49ers also traded a 3rd round pick for Chase Young who’s contract was expiring and didn’t demand to be paid. 49ers made the correct decision letting him walk the following off-season. Boutte doesn’t have the leverage to demand a team to pay him immediately.

With that said, it would be idiotic to trade him.

 

[Wozzy]

Teams don’t have to do anything especially if you’re only giving up a late round pick. 49ers traded a 2nd for Jimmy, but he didn’t get paid right away.

49ers also traded a 3rd round pick for Chase Young who’s contract was expiring and didn’t demand to be paid. 49ers made the correct decision letting him walk the following off-season. Boutte doesn’t have the leverage to demand a team to pay him immediately.

With that said, it would be idiotic to trade him.

Teams aren’t trading for him without already having the notion to keep him. They’re trading for a WR at the end of camp because they need one.

In many cases the team and players agent already have the rough draft of a contract in mind.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Teams aren’t trading for him without already having the notion to keep him. They’re trading for a WR at the end of camp because they need one.

In many cases the team and players agent already have the rough draft of a contract in mind.

It’s really a moot point because Boutte has made noise in camp while the media is speculating Kyle Williams as the “7th WR” as of today. That’s not what we want to hear. Media isn’t high on Doubs either.

The only way the Patriots would even consider trading him is if a team right now offered them a 3rd round pick at worst.