With all the talk about the seemingly inevitable trade for A.J. Brown, it appears there’s already a player who could be the odd man out if and when the Patriots-Eagles trade ultimately comes to fruition. ESPN’s Mike Reiss appeared on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Hardy on Monday, and it sounds like a Kayshon Boutte trade could be a possibility if the Patriots decide to bring Brown into the fold.
Reiss reported on Sunday that Boutte hasn’t been present to this point in the offseason workouts, with free-agent addition Romeo Doubs crediting players like Demario Douglas, Kyle Williams, Mack Hollins, and even Efton Chism for helping him get up to speed.
“It caught the ear that Kayshon Boutte wasn’t included as he has been working out away from the facility,” wrote Reiss.
After being the topic of trade rumors last offseason, Boutte’s future is again in question for the second-straight offseason. One other factor this time around is that he’s heading into the final year of his rookie contract, which is typically when teams often try to move a player who might not be part of their long-term plans.
However, Reiss isn’t sold on moving on from him, especially after his performance in 2025.
“I don’t know if it should happen,” said Reiss when it came to Boutte potentially being traded. “He played really well for them last year, you know?”
“I don’t know, there’s another piece there that probably needs to be reported out. Like, how does he feel about— I think he enters the last year of his contract – so I don’t know about the contractual piece in terms of how he views that. So just keeping an eye on it.”
Having watched his growth the past two seasons, the first inclination is that keeping Boutte seems to be the wiser move. He was solid in his third season, finishing with 33 receptions for 551 yards and six touchdowns, including 9 catches for 168 yards and a touchdown in the postseason. Six of his nine catches moved the chains, with Boutte coming up with some big catches in key moments.
One of those plays was the one-handed touchdown reception he made against Houston, which came on a 3rd-and-5 and essentially delivered the dagger to help New England advance to the AFC Championship game.
Plays like that are something they’ll need someone else to make if they decide to move on from the former LSU receiver. That’s a little easier said than done, especially given what we’ve seen previously from other players.
At the same time, the problem is that he is in the final year of his rookie deal and will likely be looking to earn more money than New England would be willing to pay him. With Drake Maye also nearing the end of his rookie deal and a potential extension coming for Christian Gonzalez, both of those deals will likely lead to some difficult financial decisions as the club decides where to best allocate its resources.
The other problem is that every deal trickles down to other players. As good as Boutte has been, it’s difficult to justify the payday he may be looking for.
Meanwhile, moving him is a risky move because Brown didn’t look like the same player in 2025. Knowing that, it certainly creates some doubt over who he’ll be for New England if he does end up in Foxboro. Brown had drops that Eagles fans were likely frustrated by in the postseason, and Patriots fans are definitely not any more forgiving should that trend continue here.
“I don’t know if it should happen. He played really well for them last year, you know?”
Mike Reiss, ESPN
Some say that it was due to his situation, while others also wondered if it’s just who he is. When Reiss spoke to scouts around the league, it sounds like not everyone is sold on where he is as a player right now.
“I talked to one scout. I asked him, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘I didn’t necessarily study every game last year, but one game I saw, he didn’t look the same,'” said Reiss. “And then I talked to someone else, and they said [he’s] still one of the best in the league. And you look at the analytics, and he rates among the top 10 in the league.'”
“So, probably depends on who you talk to. I think for the Patriots, and where they’re at in their building process here, I think the next 2 years you can probably bank on a high level of performance.”
For now, someone within the Patriots’ receiver room will definitely be impacted if Brown is brought in. Unfortunately, the fact that Boutte isn’t in Foxboro certainly hints that he and Brown may not be wearing the same uniform in 2026.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
Well the Pats let Jakobi Meyers walk and signed a broken down Juju Smith Schuster. I see a similar situation here.
…yup. I’d love to see a scout or WR coach that sees AJ Brown’s games evaluate him vs Boutte in terms of what the net differential is GOING FORWARD. Certainly in arrears, which is where the media often thrives, AJ Brown is far better. Boutte got big last year. Muscle mass. He’s stout. Still semi young. Has some skills. He took leaps of growth the past two years. And the Pats couldn’t really throw passes 25+ yards given their blocking woes ….well until about week 4 last year. Boutte to me is a blossoming WR, but staying out of voluntary… Read more »