If Kayshon Boutte Ever Emerges For Patriots, It Will Be Now

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots have done nearly everything in their power to avoid putting Kayshon Boutte on the field over the past couple of months.

It now appears they’ve run out of options.

Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker were both injured in the Patriots’ loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 8. Parker, who missed Wednesday’s practice with a concussion, likely will miss at least one week, while Bourne tore his ACL and will be gone for the remainder of New England’s season.

In one week, New England has gone from not having enough spots to play everyone, to relying on a number of guys to step up in a big way.

“It gives other players opportunities, and we’ll see what they do with them,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday, referring to the injuries New England has sustained this season. “Some guys have stepped in and really done a really good job for us — (Anfernee) Jennings, Mike (Onwenu) playing right tackle, you just go right down the line.

“(Demario Douglas), those guys that have had opportunities that have stepped in, played well and helped themselves — (Christian) Barmore. Yeah, we’ll see how it goes at that spot.”

The Patriots’ depth chart looks like it will use JuJu Smith-Schuster, Demario Douglas and Jalen Reagor in starting roles moving forward, with Tyquan Thornton and Boutte added as depth options after having been cast away in recent weeks.

If that’s what it takes for them to play, signs point to a poor result, but there’s trust in Boutte, specifically both inside and out of New England’s building.

“That dude, he can play anywhere on the field,” Smith-Schuster said in the Patriots locker room Wednesday. “He can move. Very twitchy, very fast, great hands and he’s just getting better every single day.”

Boutte showed an ability to get open in his first game with the Patriots, but didn’t record a catch on any of his four targets against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1. His two (seemingly mental) errors were huge in a game New England barely lost, and serve as the lasting memory fans have of his only game thus far.

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That doesn’t matter now, though, as the Patriots will be relying on him to contribute moving forward. He just had to continue proving he belongs.

“I think this week of practice will be really good to see who wants it,” Mac Jones told reporters Wednesday. “Who wants to go out there and compete? Who wants to pay attention to the details and work to get on the same page, the spacing, the depth, the splits and all that stuff?”

New England has stressed the importance of patience with Boutte, but that’s become increasingly difficult while Douglas has become such an integral part of the offense and the 21-year-old can’t even find his way onto the field.

There were flashes of potential, and New England has been rewarded for allowing its young players to play through mental mistakes already this season, so why not cut Boutte loose? It seems the Patriots will this week, which will give us a solid look at whether or not he’ll be a legitimate contributor moving forward.