Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots’ wide receiver group has been a pleasant surprise this season, but its depth might get tested this week. Kayshon Boutte, the team’s No. 1 wideout in terms of snaps played this season, suffered a hamstring injury during last Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons and is considered “day to day.”
The Patriots got a first taste of life without Boutte on Wednesday, when he was one of five players absent from practice. The question now becomes how to replace the 23-year-old.
For head coach Mike Vrabel, it will be a group effort.
“If you know anything about the group, there’s a lot of interchangeable parts,” he explained on Wednesday. “They play different positions, they’re in different spots. That’s not easy, going from the Z in this personnel group to the X. I give those guys a lot of credit. I give Todd [Downing] a lot of credit for being able to teach it in a manner that allows them to get lined up. And so, that group, they’ll all play, they’ll all contribute.”
Vrabel left Boutte’s outlook open for the remainder of the week, while the second-year receiver himself claimed he “shouldn’t be down too long” in a recent social media post.
Against the Falcons, the Patriots opted to increase rookie Kyle Williams’ playing time after Boutte exited in the second quarter. The third-round draft pick ended up playing a career-high 31 snaps (45.6%) but his lone target on the day fell incomplete.
Nonetheless, if Boutte is out or limited for this week’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Williams projects to play a bigger role alongside fellow receivers Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas.
“Kyle’s been learning a lot of different positions,” Vrabel said earlier this week. “I’m excited that he’ll probably get an opportunity here, a little greater opportunity going forward.”
