Patriots Player Departure Patriots are sending WR Kayshon Boutte to the Texans for safety Jaylen Reed and a draft pick

[rochrist]

People here are saying how great Reed is, plus 3 years of rookie contract....
Woohoo

WHY would Houston get rid of a Great CHEAP player (on a rookie contract), for a mediocre bum squad rental (as some here would call KB)?
Wolfie can't even see his shoes right now, and wishes he got some Astro Glide stock.

Takes something to get something.

 

[WhatJustHappened]

Takes something to get something.

I'm hoping for the best, but SMART teams don't get rid of great players, after their rookie year, for a "mediocre" rental IMHO.

 

[Rob0729]

Drake Maye is our QB. We should judge WRs on how they play with Drake Maye not pretend to know what would happen with a different Qb.

Getting covered while drawing a safety is part of the job and a lot of the value. Do you really think a play is designed to throw to the deep guy drawing the safely away, or to the guy that creates an opening for.
Because Boutte caught an insane 72% of 20+ throws defenses had to respect that and roll the safety. That isn’t happening with Douglas or Hollins.
Doubs has no history of being a deep threat like that.

FYI Doubs has a carrer 65% catch rate on ADOT of 12.1. He caught just 7/15 at 20+ last year. He won’t begin the season as a respected deep threat

LOL! One post says we should only judge the Patriots WRs on how they do with Mayes and then your next post you make the argument that Doubs isn’t as good a deep threat as Boutte because of how Doubs performed with Jordan Love and Malik Willis and not what he might do with Drake Maye.

But AJ Brown is now the Patriots deep threat receiver. He is the X. Doubs is going to be the Z. If Boutte was still here and starting, he would most likely move from the X last year and moved to the Z. The Z is usually more of a possession WR and deep threat. Doubs is a good possession WR.

 

[Huckleberry1]

do u think 3 games started and 9 total games played is a bonafide NFL player?
5 of those 9 games he basically didn't play, zero stats.
All his stats, 19 total tackles came in 4 games, one game standing out against Buffalo with 12 tackles.
In the 2 playoff starts you mentioned, he had 5 total tackles, 1 solo.
As a comparison, Boutte played 607 snaps in the regular season alone last year in 14 games.
Does he have potential, sure he does, I said I liked him at PSU and think he could be a good player.
He's still unproven, it's far too early to call him a bonafide player yet.
I don't move goalposts. If he plays little on D but is a STs maven then that is more than good enough.
What would you put the odds of him being on our roster to start the 2027 season?
I think that's still very much in question, but he will have a chance to prove his worth.

Yet I'm sure that almost everyone here, myself included , would have been happy if the Patriots got a 3rd , for Boutte, and 3rd round picks only have a 16% chance of becoming a solid NFL starter, and Reed started in the playoffs on a strong Texans defense. I think the Patriots wanted Reed more than they wanted a pick.

 

[Huckleberry1]

LOL! One post says we should only judge the Patriots WRs on how they do with Mayes and then your next post you make the argument that Doubs isn’t as good a deep threat as Boutte because of how Doubs performed with Jordan Love and Malik Willis and not what he might do with Drake Maye.

But AJ Brown is now the Patriots deep threat receiver. He is the X. Doubs is going to be the Z. If Boutte was still here and starting, he would most likely move from the X last year and moved to the Z. The Z is usually more of a possession WR and deep threat. Doubs is a good possession WR.

And the real question isn't who the better deep threat is, the real question is who the better receiver is, and to this point Doubs has been the better receiver, and that was without playing with Maye.

 

[Rob0729]

What a stupid post. Doubs has  nothing to do with whether we kept Boutte or not. Williams has nothing to do with whether we keep Boutte or not.
Its Boutte vs. Reed but more importantly, there was ONE reason and ONE reason only to keep Boutte:: INSURANCE!!! This team wants to contend for a SB. What happens if AJ or Doubs or both go down?
Williams is the future. He showed a lot of progress in TC. But hes still raw.
I wanted Boutte just for the depth in case one of or both our #1 and #2 wrs go down.
Yes, I want a SB this year. Won't be easy.
Pat's depth is not good at most position groups. At wr, it used to be.
The only saving grace will be if Reed is a decent player. But hes a box safety, not a fs.
He cant cover wrs.I hope like hell he works out. He hasnt shown anything yet. But hes still pretty young so we'll see.
I remain a huge supporter of Vrabel. Great HC IMO. Maybe the best in the NFL. This was the first and only thing hes done that I dont like. I hope it works out. And I really hope our 1 and 2 wrs stay healthy.

Doubs has a lot to do with whether Boutte was here or not. The second Doubs was signed, Boutte was gone. I don’t even think Brown had a lot to do with it. I think if they didn’t get Brown, they would have signed another receiver like Diggs or tried to trade for another one.

Boutte didn’t want to be here because he knew he wouldn’t get the reps. Doubs had a lot to do with that.

 

[JayNM]

Interpolating the current Doubs x Boutte debate, which I dont think its all that fair, bc Boutte was maturing physically still AND had to deal with really **** tumultous coaching for most of his career while Doubs was maturing in a much more stable condition

I dont trust Pop.

He turtles up in games, doesnt really work in the short game as well one would expect from a Slot Receiver and drops a **** ton of balls when it mattters

I know him and Boutte are playing very different roles, and comanding a different value in the market, but I he has done nothing of note in his time here, differently from Boutte who at least got some great games, first coming to mind against Houston itself

Hope to be proven wrong, we will be relying on him much more this year.

 

[moosekill]

I'm hoping for the best, but SMART teams don't get rid of great players, after their rookie year, for a "mediocre" rental IMHO.

This is incorrect. Teams that are competing for a championship look at their team and the holes they have, then try to fill those holes with the best players available. The draftnicks and many of the player fanboys on this site don't get it, but the windows are short for teams to compete for a superbowl. The goal is to win one, and if you have that chance you have to take it. The Boutte trade was the best option the Texans could find to improve their team, and the loss of their safety was less than their need at wide receiver.

 

[moosekill]

I'm hoping for the best, but SMART teams don't get rid of great players, after their rookie year, for a "mediocre" rental IMHO.

Not if they are superbowl caliber and missing one piece that might well put them over the top. Winning the superbowl is the goal, you do whatever you can to win one.

 

[Family]

I recall when we cut Lloyd partly because of his YAC total of 2.6 per receptions compared to Welker's 5.8.

Lloyd's 74 receptions for 911 yards weren't nearly enough to be re-signed for another year, never mind to a major contract.

There were much darker deeper issues with Lloyd in play.

He sat out the next season and only played 335 snaps the rest of his career after a 900 yd season.

 

[Uptown]

I'm hoping for the best, but SMART teams don't get rid of great players, after their rookie year, for a "mediocre" rental IMHO.

Since when has Houston ever been considered a “smart” team though?…

 

[Ring 6]

LOL! One post says we should only judge the Patriots WRs on how they do with Mayes and then your next post you make the argument that Doubs isn’t as good a deep threat as Boutte because of how Doubs performed with Jordan Love and Malik Willis and not what he might do with Drake Maye.

But AJ Brown is now the Patriots deep threat receiver. He is the X. Doubs is going to be the Z. If Boutte was still here and starting, he would most likely move from the X last year and moved to the Z. The Z is usually more of a possession WR and deep threat. Doubs is a good possession WR.

How does FYI amount arguing something? I drew no conclusion, I provided the numbers.
You said that Doubs would do a better job as the deep receiver. Now you are saying it’s AJ Brown?

FYI I didn’t say anything about “judging” I said that if you say a WR was successful because he was matched up with Maye but might not be otherwise, who cares, Maye is our QB we want guys that fit him.

 

[rkarp1]

the TE's are getting 110 targets
the RB's are getting 80 targets
the QB is running the ball 100+ attempts. the QB was sacked 47 times
the #2 or #3 WR is not getting the targets each game that would dictate usage stats

when targeted, Boutte performed very, very well. efficiency. production.
he had the QB's confidence

he was a drafted and developed WR that worked out well.
I wish him well in Houston

 

[rkarp1]

lets also not lose sight of the fact that the league;
-believes Diggs is worth 1/$7m
-Boutte is worth a developmental S and a 2028 6th
yet Maye was runner up MVP, went 14-3 and to the SB

 

[Triumph]

Doubs has a lot to do with whether Boutte was here or not. The second Doubs was signed, Boutte was gone.

Shortly after Doubs got his contract Boutte asked to be traded.

I don’t even think Brown had a lot to do with it.

Agreed. Boutte existed just fine with Diggs.

Perhaps though, watching AJB get his money rubbed Boutte the wrong way because I believe that Boutte went to the Pats after last season and wanted another contract.

I think if they didn’t get Brown, they would have signed another receiver like Diggs or tried to trade for another one.

Yup, signing Diggs took the NE offense to respectable levels again. He had to be replaced.

Boutte didn’t want to be here because he knew he wouldn’t get the reps. Doubs had a lot to do with that.

Doubs and Boutte do the same job.

 

[Rob0729]

How does FYI amount arguing something? I drew no conclusion, I provided the numbers.
You said that Doubs would do a better job as the deep receiver. Now you are saying it’s AJ Brown?

FYI I didn’t say anything about “judging” I said that if you say a WR was successful because he was matched up with Maye but might not be otherwise, who cares, Maye is our QB we want guys that fit him.

I never said Doubs was a better deep ball receiver than Boutte. Not once. I said he was a better receiver.

And by all accounts is fitting in fine with Maye. They already seem to have a great rapport. Doubs has been one of the stars in camp.

And Boutte caught 33 ball during the regular season last year. Less than Diggs (85), Henry (60), Henderson (35) and Hollins (46). One more than Stevenson. Two more than Pop. Let’s not pretend that Boutte was Maye’s goto guy. If you want to be upset, maybe you should be upset they didn’t resign Diggs for what the Commanders paid him which was nothing. No one had a better rapport with Maye than Diggs.

 

[Wozzy]

Doubs and Boutte do the same job.

Doubs is bigger, taller, better athlete and doesn’t have a surgically reconstructed ankle. He was a much smarter investment than giving the same money to Boutte.

With Boutte gone they can use Williams more and his speed can open up underneath routes for everyone else.

The WR room is much better than it was last season. No offense to Boutte but it’s better than it was a couple days ago, addition by subtraction.

 

[rkarp1]

Interpolating the current Doubs x Boutte debate, which I dont think its all that fair, bc Boutte was maturing physically still AND had to deal with really **** tumultous coaching for most of his career while Doubs was maturing in a much more stable condition

I dont trust Pop.

He turtles up in games, doesnt really work in the short game as well one would expect from a Slot Receiver and drops a **** ton of balls when it mattters

I know him and Boutte are playing very different roles, and comanding a different value in the market, but I he has done nothing of note in his time here, differently from Boutte who at least got some great games, first coming to mind against Houston itself

Hope to be proven wrong, we will be relying on him much more this year.

I agree with your asessment of Pop
my assumption is as this shakes out, Pop slides.
AJB, Doubs, Hollins, Williams garner more snap totals, and perhaps Chism/DeGennaro will as well

 

[imahobgoblin]

5-10 here, gotcha. Sounded like you meant he is a 5-10 snap player in general.

Glad Boutte is going to an organization that is likely to appreciate him. Clearly deserves better than he’s been treated here over his tenure starting with Belichick. Dude did nothing but work his ass off and become a legit receiver in this league.

Will you just do us all a favor and either go with him or back to the Jets forum where you belong?

 

[Ring 6]

I never said Doubs was a better deep ball receiver than Boutte. Not once. I said he was a better receiver.

And by all accounts is fitting in fine with Maye. They already seem to have a great rapport. Doubs has been one of the stars in camp.

And Boutte caught 33 ball during the regular season last year. Less than Diggs (85), Henry (60), Henderson (35) and Hollins (46). One more than Stevenson. Two more than Pop. Let’s not pretend that Boutte was Maye’s goto guy. If you want to be upset, maybe you should be upset they didn’t resign Diggs for what the Commanders paid him which was nothing. No one had a better rapport with Maye than Diggs.

Well you did

I think Boutte is a good, not great WR. I think he is a good #3/#4 WR.

I watched Boutte play, but I also watched Drake Maye play. Maye got balls to Boutte into tight windows in good coverage. A lot of QBs wouldn't complete some of the passes to Boutte that Maye made because Boutte wasn't great at getting separation. He won a lot 50-50 ball or balls into tight coverage. Sometimes Boutte took the top off, many times he was covered. So think another receiver can replace that. I think Doubs will do better in those situations.

Again you are stuck on a stat page. Boutte brought more value that volume of receptions. First, he ran routes that are far less targeted. By doing that well he drew coverage, of that there is no doubt, just look at the film. A passing game isn’t send 5 guys out randomly and see who gets open. It’s a coordinated combination of routes. The success Maye had connecting deep with Boutte forced defenses to respect that. This opened up other routes which enabled the catches by the other players. You do understand that hitting Henry in the seam is a result of drawing a safety out of it right?
Why would you think that receptions is all that matters?
Perhaps Boutte overachieved in his role as the guy running the least likely to be open route that draws coverage from Diggs running the most likely to get open first progression, and Diggs underachieved. You can’t compare production as the first progression to production as the 4th. It’s like saying the OL didn’t catch any passes so they didn’t help the passing game.
I don’t think we can have a productive discussion if all you want to do is write down stats and pretend every player is playing under the same circumstances.