The New England Patriots are in a trade-happy mood. Less than a week after sending wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to Houston, the reigning AFC champions have made another move: acquiring running back Corey Kiner in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals.
In New England, the 24-year-old will join a running back group that is settled at the top but far less so further down the depth chart. With that said, let’s find out what it means for the Patriots from a big-picture perspective.
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New RB3
Coming out of their preseason finale in Cleveland, the Patriots had six running backs on their roster. Besides roster locks Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, they also had the quartet of Lan Larison, Jam Miller, Hassan Haskins and JaMycal Hasty under contract. The expectation, naturally, was that the primary backup behind Stevenson and Henderson would be coming from that second group of players.
With Kiner now on the team, that might not be the case. While adding him to the mix is not guaranteed to cost all four of Larison, Miller, Haskins and Hasty their jobs, it certainly muddies the outlook for them. Fact is, after all, that the newest addition to the room is a quasi-lock to be on the initial 53-man roster.
The question then becomes just how deep the group will go, especially given the questions about depth elsewhere. When we look at the position solely from a in-and-out perspective, however, Kiner very much is the current RB3: his roster outlook, at least for the moment, is far more settled than that of any other back not named Stevenson or Henderson.
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Bruiser at running back
Standing at under 5-foot-9 and 209 pounds, Kiner is not the most physically imposing running back. That being said, his game is a powerful one that allows him to find success between the tackles. To quote Dan Brugler’s 2025 draft guide, The Beast:
Kiner is a leverage-based runner who is more powerful than he looks and consistently makes the first man miss (No. 4 in the FBS with 82 forced missed tackles in 2024). Despite lacking top-tier athletic traits, he has a natural feel for run angles to use his blocking and set up defenders. Overall, Kiner is a compactly built tackle breaker. He won’t impress with speed or burst, but his balance through contact will be his NFL ticket. Proving himself on passing downs will help his chances of making a roster.
With seventh-round rookie Jam Miller limited in practice this week and not suiting up for the preseason finale, New England now adds a player with a similar profile — and one who might end up replacing the rookie on the 53-man roster when all is said and done. Of course, that would still potentially leave New England short of a traditional receiving back.
Special teams factor
A bell-cow runner during his college career, particularly his two seasons as a starter in Cincinnati, Kiner saw only limited special teams snaps. The same has been true since his move to the NFL, with one notable exception: both the 49ers and the Cardinals have opted to use him as a kickoff return option. His output was still limited — one return each in preseason and regular season for 17 and 22 yards, respectively — but it shows that teams see something to build on.
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The Patriots are not only in need of better running back depth, of course, but also do not have a clear No. 1 kickoff return either. They have tried Lan Larison, Hassan Haskins and wideout Kyle Williams, among others, but nobody seems to clearly edged out the competition thus far. Maybe Kiner’s presence will shake up the group.
Kayshon Boutte trade completed
We started by referencing the Kayshon Boutte trade, and we’ll close with it as well. Acquiring Kiner, after all, put a wrap on that particular transaction.
To recap: the Patriots sent their former starting X-receiver to the Texans and got two assets in return. One was safety Jaylen Reed, a potential foundational piece in the secondary; the other was a seventh-round selection in the 2028 NFL Draft. It was that specific pick that has now changed hands again. After previously already going from New Orleans to Houston and then to New England, it now belongs to the Cardinals.
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This, effectively, means that the Patriots turned Boutte into two players: Reed and Kiner.
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