Mysteries about Patriots wide receiver, cornerback playing time keep growing

One of the biggest continuing storylines around the New England Patriots in 2023 has been the team's usage of certain players, especially at the skill positions. There will be plenty more of those conversations coming away from the Patriots' 20-17 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday, which dropped them to 2-7 on the season.

On offense, the Patriots chose to make rookie wide receiver Kayshon Boutte a healthy scratch. This came after his return to the field seemed to be building this week, given the team's injuries at the position (Kendrick Bourne was placed on IR this week, and DeVante Parker suffered a concussion last week and was ruled out on Friday). Bill Belichick also noted on Friday that Boutte had "his best week" of practice so far leading up to the Washington game.

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Instead, Boutte was inactive for the seventh week in a row as the Patriots went with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Reagor, and Tyquan Thornton. Boutte, a sixth-round pick this past spring, hasn't played since the Patriots' season opener, when he was on the field for 55 snaps but didn't record a catch.

When asked about Boutte's status after the game, Belichick gave a generic answer. He focused on the position as a whole, rather than the one player.

"We activated the players that we felt were the best players to put in the game," Belichick said, when asked directly about Boutte.

At the same time, Belichick stood by his comments from earlier this week. Asked why he called it Boutte's "best week of practice" despite not playing him, Belichick answered, "it was."

"I thought it was," Belichick continued. "I thought he had a good week of practice. That's why I said that."

Is it possible Boutte's best still isn't good enough for the Patriots' coaching staff to let him in a game? Belichick talked around that question.

"We activated the other four receivers and Mike [Gesicki]. I mean, really Mike is our fifth receiver."

The playing time backed that claim up. Tyquan Thornton was seemingly benched early in the second quarter and from there the Patriots worked heavily out of '12' personnel with Gesicki mimicking many wide receiver-like responsibilities. He ended up playing 52 snaps, the second-most of any Patriots skill position player.

In addition to Boutte being a surprise inactive, the Patriots also made some notable changes at cornerback. Both J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones started the game on the bench. Jackson didn't appear in the game until the Patriots' third defensive drive, while Jones didn't see the field until the second quarter. Shaun Wade got the start over them opposite Jonathan Jones.

Again, Belichick wouldn't get into the specifics of the moves after the game. Like with the wide receivers, he reference the position group as a whole.

Despite a report from Jeff Howe of The Athletic saying Jackson and Jones were both benched " due to recent performance issues," Belichick answered with a lone "no" when asked the question after the game. Throughout the season Belichick has refused to classify or admit to benchings, going back to Douglas getting pulled off the field after a fumble in Week 1.

Every other question about the situation drew a similar answer. "Everybody played. They all played," Belichick replied when asked why Wade got the start, rather than why Jackson and Jones started on the bench. Asked if it was a disciplinary issue, Belichick said "we played all the corners. I think we played all the safeties. I think we played everybody on defense."

The nature of the benching will likely remain unknown, however it seemed to be a sensitives subject inside the locker room.

"I can't get into that, but if you want to know what that is, you're going to have to talk to them," safety Adrian Phillips told Doug Kyed of The Boston Herald after the game. "But they ended up playing so it is what it is."

Jackson himself declined to speak with the media after the game. Jones left the facility before media access began, per Patriots PR.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.