Patriots

After tumultuous offseason, Kayshon Boutte is seemingly poised for a breakout season with Patriots

“I didn’t want to set myself back, have these high expectations, so it’s keep myself on that path."

Kayshon Boutte has impressed so far during training camp. (Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff)

August 5, 2025

2 minutes to read

FOXBOROUGH — It’s been an eventful offseason for Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte.

Despite standing as one of the few bright spots on an otherwise listless Patriots offense last season (43 catches, 589 yards, three touchdowns), Boutte found himself mentioned in numerous trade rumors over the course of the spring.

Boutte’s murky future in New England was due in large part to what was shaping up to be a crowded wideout room in Foxborough for the 2025 season.

That logjam among pass-catchers has been evident so far through the first two-plus weeks of camp. But Boutte has gone from potential trade chip to starter in record time.

While Strefon Diggs and DeMario Douglas are the two locks on New England’s starting unit as Drake Maye’s top targets, Boutte has routinely logged first-team reps in camp as the team’s go-to boundary receiver.

The 2023 sixth-round pick has further cemented his starting status with multiple standout plays over the last few weeks.

During Friday’s in-stadium scrimmage, Boutte reeled in a 50-yard touchdown off a deep pass from Joshua Dobbs with cornerback Marcellas Dial.

In a relatively lackluster showing from the offense during red-zone work on Monday, Boutte also served as a bright spot — snagging a pass from Maye in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

“I would say I for sure caught the ball. I think the main focus was getting both feet in bounds, which I think I did,” Boutte said of his highlight-reel grab on Monday. “It was fourth-and-3, gotta have it situation. Drake just kind of got flushed out of the pocket. Just a receiver making plays.”

Once tabbed as a player potentially on the outs amid an overhauled roster, Boutte now looks like a legitimate contributor on New England’s upgraded wideout grouping in 2025.

For the former LSU receiver, a renewed emphasis on offseason conditioning has put him in position to hit the ground running so far this preseason.

“I think my main focus this offseason was coming back in shape,” Boutte said Tuesday. “So I feel like I came back in shape, picked up where I left off at and not getting in shape while we’re going. So I think that was my main focus, coming back ready to roll.”

Beyond the confidence drawn out of his production on an otherwise miserable Patriots offense in 2024, Boutte also believes his nagging injury woes are in the rearview mirror.

An ankle injury in college hurt Boutte’s stock going into the 2023 NFL Draft, with the subsequent surgical procedures sapping some of his speed and cutting ability during his first two seasons in New England.

Now with a clean bill of health and a productive offseason in the rearview, Boutte feels as though he has a chance to take another major step forward in New England this fall. The Patriots would welcome such a result.

“Just kind of thinking about last season and the little success I had, just wanted to build off that,” Boutte said. “I didn’t want to set myself back, have these high expectations, so it’s keep myself on that path.”