Patriots Trade Kayshon Boutte To Houston Texans

The New England Patriots traded wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans for safety Jaylen Reed and a 2028 seventh-round draft pick.

Boutte was the standout receiver for the Patriots, who made it to the Super Bowl before falling short against the Seattle Seahawks. He led the team in touchdowns with six and was second among wide receivers in yards for the team.

The Patriots have strengthened their offense over the summer with star receiver A.J. Brown joining the team, as Boutte is one of the few departures from New England.

With the Patriots’ receiving corps thinned this offseason, Boutte found himself in several trade rumors. With the trade sending him to Houston, Boutte has a chance to play a prominent role in the Texans’ offense, which has been short on depth due to receiver injuries. 

Following their 37-13 loss against the Cleveland Browns, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel stated that, “That was one place where we do have some depth, and I think for all parties involved, that was probably the best thing. Without injuries, Kayshon probably would have been inactive. Unfortunately, it just, it’s kind of the way it was. It’s just with him not playing special teams.” 

“I guess he was the odd man out,” VP of player personnel Eliot Wolf said. “But there were some different conversations that we had with different teams throughout the league. Again, the opportunity to acquire Jaylen Reed for a player that Houston wanted is something that we decided to pull the trigger on. We feel really good about our receiver group. We have guys that can play in multiple positions. They all really complement each other well.” 

Jayden Higgins has gone down with a torn ACL, and Tank Dell is still recovering from his leg injury, which has led the Texans to look for more depth to support an offense that struggled over the past year.