Boutte available for trade?

[TheRainMaker]

Christian Watson. 4 years $110.5m.

Wow.

This WR market is off the charts. That's incredible for a guy with #s very very similar to Boutte's (high target success, big YPC, but modest # of catches & yards).

Absolutely horrendous contract. This is exactly what is currently wrong with the NFL.

 

[Ring 6]

Boutte played about 55% of the snaps last year. Diggs had the same number of snaps and doubled Boutte production. Hollins had the most at 60%. With Kyle Williams and Pops each getting 30% of the snaps.

There is no way Boutte is getting 55% again. Mack Hollins is a big part of the run game so its hard to imagine him getting less than 50% this year. Doubs and Brown should be getting at least 55% like Boutte and Diggs last year. And one would have to assume the coaching staff wants to get Williams more involved with the offense.

There isnt enough snaps unless Boutte can outshine Doubs in trainding camp, and instead of trying to work hard he is asking for a trade because he cant handle competition.

Boutte is much better than Hollins.

 

[Ring 6]

Unless they can determine what it is that causes Douglas to lose his balance so often, and correct it, I don’t see much of a future here for him.

I think that’s overblown, but him running routes properly is what has to get better

 

[captain stone]

Some of the keep boutte people are missing a really important point:

The player’s wishes.

Dude doesn’t want to be here because he won’t get the touches he wants/feels he deserves to maximize his value.

AJ Brown just took most of his snaps.

The ONLY world I see him staying here in is one where Brass feels Williams was a straight bust and will never “get it”.

Unfortunately the timing on both decisions is off by a season AND they aren’t similar players. Boutte isn’t stretching any fields.

But Williams seems to be victim of the old “this offense is too hard” issue popping back up for young WR’s.

I don't disagree; but trading him any time before the end of training camp wouldn't be prudent, IMO.

 

[Wozzy]

I like Williams a lot. I hope he beats out Boutte. Until he does you don’t get rid of a guy who starts for you.

Okorafor was a starter for the Steelers... starting doesn't make you indispensable... or even good.

 

[Wozzy]

Douglas is not a better WR than Boutte.

Douglas is better in space, in the middle of the field, with the ball in hand.

He was better in receptions and yards in 2024, despite Boutte leading the team in WR snaps.

Douglas potentially has a role, Boutte with Brown and Doubs arrival is redundant.

 

[captain stone]

Christian Watson. 4 years $110.5m.

Wow.

This WR market is off the charts. That's incredible for a guy with #s very very similar to Boutte's (high target success, big YPC, but modest # of catches & yards).

That's ridiculous. The dude is So unreliable. How can they justify giving him all that money?
****ing stupid. Now that ****s up the WR market all over again.

 

[mgteich]

I agree. Everyone is hell bent to put Williams as the WR3. I get that they want to see a speedster in his second year get a chance. Other than a Go route he was extremely limited last year. His route running needs work and during a good part of the beginning of the year he was not reading the defense correctly. He went right while Drake threw left. McD’s Offense can do that to some players. So until I see more of him Boutte is your WR3 and for good reason.
If we keep Boutte this season he is what we need as insurance if AJ or Doubs go down. If we keep him through the season and he signs a nice FA contract somewhere else next year our compensation pick will be higher then what they can get right now for him

Yes, I would like to have Boutte on the team if Doubs or Brown goes down.

While I think that this role could be very important, I might not even have Boutte active while the top 3 WR's are healthy, Hollins being the 3rd. The #4 WR is the 7th receiver target, after the top 3 WR's, Henry and the two RB's.

If Josh is developing a game plan, I have mentioned the top 6 receiver targets. I don't expect the backup TE or the FB or the 3rd RB to be in the top 7. A WR would be the #7 target going into a game.

Given that everyone is healthy, how many targets would you expect for the 4th and 5th WR? Under what circumstances would Josh have Maye have one of the backups out on the field.

I suggest that one of the roles could be 2-3 targets to Williams, stretching the field. Call him whatever you want, but this seems a good use of a backup on the roster.

For me, I would expect any of the other WR's to get even 2 reps a game, if any. For me, the potential roles are:
Boutte: injury backup to Brown and Dobbs
Douglas: injury backup in the slot
Chism,: garbage time backup
Dixon: returner
I would be fine carrying both Douglas and Boutte on the 53, with Chism and Dixon on the PS.

More reasonable is to get something for Boutte in August and have Douglas on the 53.

 

[mgteich]

Absolutely horrendous contract. This is exactly what is currently wrong with the NFL.

So, teams shouldn't be allowed to overpay and make stupid mistakes. This kind of mistake helps teams with better sense and better cap managements.

 

[mgteich]

That's ridiculous. The dude is So unreliable. How can they justify giving him all that money?
****ing stupid. Now that ****s up the WR market all over again.

and the other teams cheer as so much money was wasted.

 

[patfanken]

Douglas is better in space, in the middle of the field, with the ball in hand.

He was better in receptions and yards in 2024, despite Boutte leading the team in WR snaps.

Douglas potentially has a role, Boutte with Brown and Doubs arrival is redundant.

I think Douglas joined a long list of WR's who fell victim to the difficulty of Josh's offense. The hope will be (Like Williams) the 2nd year (and beyond) will be the Charm, and we will see the kind of elusiveness in the slot that we hoped we were getting and seen flashes of in previous years.

I join others who think that being a second year in the same offensive system is an underrated factor in the development of a lot of players. And it will be again next year too, and on into the future. Don't forget last season they saw the Elementary school version. This year if all goes well it will expand to the middle school version, but it will actually be a few years from now before we start to see the University and Grad school versions where Brady was in complete control at the LOS and able to move them out of any play and a the full bag of tricks to counter every defensive trick he could spot. That's 2007-14 Brady when he was at his personal best. When he started to know all the answers to the test and was also EIGHT years into his career, not 2. So, Maye still has a long way to go before he gets to that point. I'm just opining that this upcoming year we will start to see the difference as he experiences more repetitions of various looks and defenses

It is worth noting that Maye's experience is eerily close to Brady. It was in his 2nd year when Brady and the Pats shock the NFL world and won a Superbowl. In Maye's 2nd year, he and the Pats ALSO shocked the NFL by going to the Superbowl and falling just one game short of equaling Brady's success. We should remember that the team took a step back the next season. Had a 9-7 record and didn't make the Playoffs. We didn't have the same injury luck we had in 2001. Brady turned the ball over a lot that year, enough that ball security became a priority for him during that off season, IIRC. kind of similar to an issue Maye had in the playoffs and I hope he's already working on it this off season.

 

[TheRainMaker]

So, teams shouldn't be allowed to overpay and make stupid mistakes. This kind of mistake helps teams with better sense and better cap managements.

No, it makes players who are more deserving more difficult to pay.

The NFL would've been a lot better off adopting an NBA style cap where players have to hit certain accomplishments in order to get x amount of money. You can't pay guys top money just because you feel like it. A perfect example is a guy like Robert Hunt who nobody has ever heard of when he made top G money. It's been 2 years and it's already being talked about as a massive mistake. Blunders like this make better players value skyrocket forcing teams to make tough decisions.

I've been seeing this bad trend for quite some time now and it's a major reason why the overall product of the NFL isn't what it was 15+ years ago.

Insider: Star Panthers guard is one of the worst contracts in the NFL

The signing of Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis after the 2023 season proved to be revolutionary for the Carolina Panthers. They boasted a much-improved offensive l

www.si.com

 

[PatsFan2]

I think Douglas joined a long list of WR's who fell victim to the difficulty of Josh's offense. The hope will be (Like Williams) the 2nd year (and beyond) will be the Charm, and we will see the kind of elusiveness in the slot that we hoped we were getting and seen flashes of in previous years.

I join others who think that being a second year in the same offensive system is an underrated factor in the development of a lot of players. And it will be again next year too, and on into the future. Don't forget last season they saw the Elementary school version. This year if all goes well it will expand to the middle school version, but it will actually be a few years from now before we start to see the University and Grad school versions where Brady was in complete control at the LOS and able to move them out of any play and a the full bag of tricks to counter every defensive trick he could spot. That's 2007-14 Brady when he was at his personal best. When he started to know all the answers to the test and was also EIGHT years into his career, not 2. So, Maye still has a long way to go before he gets to that point. I'm just opining that this upcoming year we will start to see the difference as he experiences more repetitions of various looks and defenses

It is worth noting that Maye's experience is eerily close to Brady. It was in his 2nd year when Brady and the Pats shock the NFL world and won a Superbowl. In Maye's 2nd year, he and the Pats ALSO shocked the NFL by going to the Superbowl and falling just one game short of equaling Brady's success. We should remember that the team took a step back the next season. Had a 9-7 record and didn't make the Playoffs. We didn't have the same injury luck we had in 2001. Brady turned the ball over a lot that year, enough that ball security became a priority for him during that off season, IIRC. kind of similar to an issue Maye had in the playoffs and I hope he's already working on it this off season.

Love your optimism but how do you explain that Turf Monster who Tackles Him regularly?? That's one of the reasons I want us to hold onto Boutte *bettter understanding of McDaniels Offense*. Regarding Douglas and Chism we'll see in TC if things stay the same.

 

[PatsFan2]

Unless they can determine what it is that causes Douglas to lose his balance so often, and correct it, I don’t see much of a future here for him.

Turf monster ??

 

[PatsFan2]

Christian Watson. 4 years $110.5m.

Wow.

This WR market is off the charts. That's incredible for a guy with #s very very similar to Boutte's (high target success, big YPC, but modest # of catches & yards).

Injuries too when he's healthy he's a very good X-WR: Treams just don't get rid of promising Young WR's. The reason I'm baffled with the Boutte situation.

 

[Give Kraft A Hand]

Injuries too when he's healthy he's a very good X-WR: Treams just don't get rid of promising Young WR's. The reason I'm baffled with the Boutte situation.

Watson played half the season and out performed Boutte. These two are apples and oranges. I feel like we have this conversation every year where last year it was Pop being constantly overrated on here and this year it’s Boutte. Next year will probably be back on the Chism hype train etc…

Giving a guy like Boutte 10-15 million a year is exactly why suck bag teams stay suck bag teams.

Hell I don’t even particularly love Doubs and hated that signing at the time but he’s better than Boutte.

 

[Family]

****ing stupid. Now that ****s up the WR market all over again.

Good.

The Patriots are out of the WR FA market for at least two years.

 

[Brady85-23]

What about calling up the bears and offering boutte and a 6 for cole kmet?

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Giving a guy like Boutte 10-15 million a year is exactly why suck bag teams stay suck bag teams.

Hell I don’t even particularly love Doubs and hated that signing at the time but he’s better than Boutte.

This is correct. Posters falling in love with the guy on the team, not the best guy.