6 rings: Patriots vs. Commanders Week 9 Preview with Phil Perry
The Patriots' wide receiver room went from bad to worse last weekend when both DeVante Parker (head) and Kendrick Bourne (knee) left Sunday's game in Miami due to injury.
Bourne is officially out for the season with a torn ACL and Parker, though he shouldn't be out long term, will most likely miss at least this weekend's contest vs. the Commanders with a concussion. He has yet to practice this week.
New England will now have to call onto some younger pass catchers to play a larger role in their offense down the stretch. This includes rookie Kayshon Boutte:
"It’s been difficult," the sixth-round pick out of LSU said at his locker on Thursday when asked about his journey in New England so far. "Coming from college, playing every down… it’s a learned experience and now my name's being called."
Hmmm... being called, you say?
Boutte has been active for just one game this season, the opener versus the Philadelphia Eagles where he was targeted four times and failed to haul in a reception.
Earlier this week on WEEI's Jones and Mego show, quarterback Mac Jones spoke about his confidence in both Boutte and the rest of New England's young wide receivers:
"Really want them to take advantage of the opportunity," he said. "I’ve seen [Kayshon] Boutte play, you know in college, and worked with him early in training camp and in the first game and stuff, and I have a lot of confidence in him."
He continued:
"These guys, they all work hard. They’re all ready, I know they’re ready. It's just getting the little details ironed out, when you have a new guy in there you might not be able to do, ‘Hey I’m gonna signal you this play,’ or whatever, right? So it’s just a little bit of a learning curve, right? I was a rookie, everybody was a rookie at one point. You just have to work with them. Their ability is definitely there. A lot of the young guys have stepped up in games... I know that they can do it, for sure."
Sitting at 2-6 and heading into what many consider a winnable stretch of games, the young guys, Boutte included, will need to step up once again.
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