The New England Patriots have agreed to trade wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans in exchange for safety Jaylen Reed and a 2028 seventh-round pick.
Boutte, a 6th-round pick (187th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft, has spent the last three seasons with the Patriots, totaling 78 receptions for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns.
Last season, the 24-year-old caught 33 passes for 551 yards and a career-high six touchdowns in 14 games, with his production slightly limited by a hamstring injury. Despite missing time, he still played 55.48% of New England’s offensive snaps, the second-highest percentage among the team’s receivers behind only Mack Hollins (60.05%). He also led the Patriots with 168 receiving yards in the postseason.
Boutte emerged as a top deep ball target for quarterback Drake Maye, with his 16.7 yards per reception ranking fourth in the NFL behind Detroit’s Jameson Williams (17.2), Green Bay’s Christian Watson (17.5), and Indianapolis’ Alec Pierce (21.3). He averaged 18.7 yards per reception in the playoffs.
The LSU product reportedly requested a trade as far back as April, after the Patriots acquired star wide receiver A.J. Brown via trade and signed Romeo Doubs to a lucrative free-agent contract. Boutte, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is set to earn a base salary of $3.674 million this season, likely would have struggled to maximize his value in a contract year while competing for targets behind the two newcomers.
Throughout training camp, Boutte primarily worked with the second-team offense, though he did get some opportunities with the starters.
Now in Houston, Boutte should have plenty of opportunities to contribute alongside quarterback C.J. Stroud, especially after second-year wide receiver Jayden Higgins tore his ACL in practice last week. Higgins, who was selected in the second round (34th overall), finished third on the Texans in targets (68), receptions (41) and receiving yards (525) last season while playing all 17 games.
The move leaves the Patriots with six receivers on the depth chart: Brown, Doubs, DeMario “Pop” Douglas, Kyle Williams, Mack Hollins and Efton Chism III.
As for the Patriots’ return in Reed, the 23-year-old was drafted in the sixth round (187th overall) out of Penn State last year. He played seven games with one start as a rookie for the Texans, totaling just 73 snaps in the regular season. He started both of Houston’s playoff games, playing 100 total snaps, including 53 in the Divisional Round against the Patriots.
Reed joins Craig Woodson, Kevin Byard, Dell Pettus, Mike Brown, John Saunders Jr., Peter Manuma, Eric Butler and Brenden Schooler on the Patriots’ safety depth chart.
