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The no-show concerns surrounding New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte were officially put to rest on Tuesday.
When speaking with media members ahead of the team's first practice of mandatory minicamp, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel revealed that the veteran receiver had reported to the building.
This news comes after Boutte spent the entire offseason, including voluntary OTAs, away from the team preparing for the 2026 season. The former sixth-round draft pick is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and the likelihood that the team would invest in him dwindled with the arrivals of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs.
He suddenly finds himself in a position where he needs to run up the stat sheet to maximize his earning potential on the free agent market in 2027. That's clearly hard to do when playing behind a three-time All-Pro wide receiver in Brown and an emerging young talent in Doubs.
Yet, despite all of the difficulties facing him in 2026, Boutte showed up ready to participate, although Vrabel wouldn't commit to how much that would be.
"Everybody under contract is here and accounted for," Vrabel told media members. "...I don't know if he'll participate fully, just because I don't think that's fair to him. To just say, 'Hey, go run 20 reps.' ...Based on how he does and looks, I think that could certainly change. ...We want to be smart with everybody that we have. For the guys that we haven't seen, I think it's only right to make sure that they're where everybody else is based on how we practice."
If Boutte sticks around, the Patriots would have arguably the deepest wide receiver room in the NFL. With that said, there is still a possibility that another receiver-needy team comes calling with a trade offer, and given the redundancy at wideout, the Patriots are currently in a place where they'd have to listen.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Mike Vrabel shares major update on Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte
Continue reading...
When speaking with media members ahead of the team's first practice of mandatory minicamp, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel revealed that the veteran receiver had reported to the building.
This news comes after Boutte spent the entire offseason, including voluntary OTAs, away from the team preparing for the 2026 season. The former sixth-round draft pick is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and the likelihood that the team would invest in him dwindled with the arrivals of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs.
He suddenly finds himself in a position where he needs to run up the stat sheet to maximize his earning potential on the free agent market in 2027. That's clearly hard to do when playing behind a three-time All-Pro wide receiver in Brown and an emerging young talent in Doubs.
Yet, despite all of the difficulties facing him in 2026, Boutte showed up ready to participate, although Vrabel wouldn't commit to how much that would be.
"Everybody under contract is here and accounted for," Vrabel told media members. "...I don't know if he'll participate fully, just because I don't think that's fair to him. To just say, 'Hey, go run 20 reps.' ...Based on how he does and looks, I think that could certainly change. ...We want to be smart with everybody that we have. For the guys that we haven't seen, I think it's only right to make sure that they're where everybody else is based on how we practice."
If Boutte sticks around, the Patriots would have arguably the deepest wide receiver room in the NFL. With that said, there is still a possibility that another receiver-needy team comes calling with a trade offer, and given the redundancy at wideout, the Patriots are currently in a place where they'd have to listen.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Mike Vrabel shares major update on Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte
Continue reading...
