Patriots Wideout Reveals He Issued Apology After Criticizing Game Plan

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo got himself in hot water for criticizing Alex Van Pelt’s play-calling in Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Mayo wasn’t alone in that regard.

Patriots second-year wide receiver Kayshon Boutte also voiced his frustrations about New England’s lackluster offense following the team’s 11th defeat of the season. Boutte believed the Patriots didn’t dial up the right plays to combat Arizona’s man coverage and he felt they needed “to be better at attacking that instead of being shy about it.”

Boutte changed his tone Wednesday when meeting with the media at Gillette Stadium and he revealed he not only had a conversation with Alex Van Pelt about his comments, but also apologized to the Patriots offensive coordinator.

“I was just like, ‘I’m sorry for the way the message came across. I went about it the wrong way. Instead of going about it to the media, I should have came to you,'” Boutte told reporters, per MassLive’s Chris Mason. “He understood. He said he loved that I came to him and just talked about it. He’s open to hearing ideas and everything like that. So just having somebody that understands and is open to listening is great.”

This isn’t the first time Boutte called out Van Pelt’s decision-making. Boutte said following New England’s Week 6 home loss to the Houston Texans, which was Drake Maye’s first career NFL start, that he had to ask Van Pelt to take shots down the field. Maye in that game threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Boutte.

Boutte didn’t exactly elevate the offense in the loss to the Cardinals. He had just two catches on a team-high five targets for 19 yards and had one pass go off his hands for a Cardinals interception. Whether it was that play or the Patriots continuing their downward spiral, Boutte felt like he let his emotions get the better of him with the criticism he doled out.

“I think it was just the frustration that I had lingering from the game that went into the postgame interview,” Boutte said. “I feel like I was wrong for what I said. It wasn’t the right way to handle it and go about it. That’s my fault. I take accountability for it.”