The New England Patriots traded wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans in exchange for safety Jaylen Reed and a future seventh-round draft pick this week. The move made sense, as Boutte had been the subject of trade rumors this offseason given the upgrades New England made at the position, while the Texans just saw second-year pass-catcher Jayden Higgins go down with a torn ACL.
What didn't make sense about this deal, however, was the compensation. CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo said the Texans easily won this trade, grading it as an "A" for Houston and much worse for the Patriots.
Boutte is a solid player. He caught 33 passes for 551 yards and a career-high six touchdowns in 2025, and his 16.7 yards per reception ranked fourth in the NFL. Boutte even caught three passes for 75 yards and a touchdown in the divisional-round victory against the Texans on the way to Super Bowl LX.
Despite Boutte's 2025 campaign, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters following New England's final preseason game against the Browns that Boutte was on track to be a healthy scratch on game days.
"That was the one place where we do have some depth," Vrabel said, via MassLive. "I think for all parties involved, that was probably the best thing. Without injuries Kayshon probably would have been inactive, unfortunately. That's just kind of the way it was with him not playing special teams. I tried to thank Kayshon as many times as I could. I texted him again today.
"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's positively going to affect a lot of people. I know that wasn't easy for him to do and I tell him all the time how much I respect him for being able to do that."
No one thought Boutte would lead the Patriots in receiving this year, but it's pretty interesting to hear that the player who ranked second on the team among wide receivers in yards last season would have likely been a healthy scratch multiple times this year.
Looking at the Patriots' official depth chart, it's obvious that Boutte would have been listed behind trade-acquisition A.J. Brown and free-agency addition Romeo Doubs. "Pop Douglas" received the same amount of targets in the passing game as Boutte in three more games played last year, but New England has him listed as a starter.
Perhaps the main takeaway with the Boutte trade is that Kyle Williams is going to play a legitimate role in the offense this year.
The former third-round pick caught just 10 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie, but he's been a preseason standout for New England. In the first exhibition game, Williams caught two passes for 37 yards and a touchdown. In the second, he caught two passes for 74 yards and another score. On Thursday in Cleveland, Williams completed the hat trick with two receptions for 55 yards and his third touchdown.
Williams has shown the ability to be a deep-ball threat and is due for more looks in his second NFL season.
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One team's healthy inactive is another team's treasure. On paper, the Texans had one of the best wide receiving corps in the NFL with Nico Collins, Jayden Higgins, Xavier Hutchinson, Tank Dell, Justin Watson and Jaylin Noel.
However, Higgins tore his ACL while Dell is not as far along in his recovery from a serious leg injury as previously thought. Longtime reporter John McClain said this week that Dell is "nowhere ready to play."
With Houston down two of its top-five guys, general manager Nick Caserio went out and acquired an ascending talent for pennies. It remains to be seen if Boutte's long-term home is in Houston, as he's set to enter the final year of his rookie deal, but he will have the opportunity to contribute immediately for C.J. Stroud.
