Bigger role could be coming for Patriots rookie based on latest injury update
New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte is ‘day-to-day’ after leaving Sunday’s game early with a hamstring injury.
Oct 19, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (9) runs with the ball against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at Nissan Stadium.
Steve Roberts-Imagn ImagesNew England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte left Sunday's win over the Atlanta Falcons early with a hamstring injury. Looking ahead, his status is up in the air for the Patriots' next game, this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"Kayshon's gonna be day-to-day, but I don't see him practicing early in the week," head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Monday morning. "We'll see where that goes late in the week."
In what has been somewhat of a breakout third season, Boutte has been a crucial part of the Patriots' pass game. Over the first eight games he caught 23 passes for 431 yards and five touchdowns. His 18.7 yards per catch is second among all qualifying NFL wide receivers.
With Boutte out for most of the game the Patriots turned to rookie third-round pick Kyle Williams. Filling in mainly at the 'X' position Williams played a career-high 31 snaps (45.6% of the Patriots' offensive snaps) although went without a catch on just one target.
It's been a slow start to the year for Williams, as he's found himself buried behind more veteran wide receivers over the first two months. In total he's caught two passes on six targets, with his last catch coming in Week 3. If Boutte misses time though, his role could quickly increase.
"Well, he settled down. He had to play a lot of different positions and there's a lot of moving parts," Vrabel said when asked what he's seen from the rookie wideout. "And Kayshon went down and Kyle's been learning a lot of different positions."
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"I'm excited that he'll probably get an opportunity here, a little greater opportunity going forward," Vrabel continued. "It's just a lot of different personnel groups and alignments. And so, I think he settled down and I think that he'll get an opportunity here moving forward...Kyle should be ready to go here for us."
Pending any external reporting the next update on Boutte will come on Wednesday, when the Patriots hold their first practice of the week. The team will release an injury report that afternoon.
