The Patriots recently traded receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Texans. After New England’s preseason finale against the Browns, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the decision to move on from the 2023 sixth-round pick.
“That was one place where we do have some depth,” Vrabel told reporters. “I think for all parties involved, that was probably the best thing without injuries, you know? OK, sure, he probably would have been inactive, unfortunately, because it’s kind of the way it was. It’s just him not playing special teams.”
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It really does become a numbers game. The deeper a receiver slides on the depth chart, the less he’ll play offense. And the more of a role he’ll have on special teams.
As Vrabel said, Boutte wouldn’t have been playing special teams. So they needed to move on.
“I tried to thank Kayshon as many times as I could,” Vrabel said. “Just his maturity, his growth. His ability to put into words last year and share his own personal struggle, but also the growth that he made from that, that is positively going to affect a lot of people. I know that that wasn’t easy for him to do, and I tell him all the time about how much I respect him.”
Vrabel was referring to Boutte’s willingness to go public with his gambling addiction from his time at LSU. And Vrabel is right; Boutte’s candor will indeed help others who are dealing with the same issue.
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