FOXBORO — Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte returned to the team for mandatory minicamp after skipping voluntary organized team activities sessions.
Boutte wouldn’t give a straight answer on why he skipped OTAs. He was asked if it was related to his contract or the fact that he’s been the subject of trade rumors.
“It was just a personal decision,” Boutte said. “At the end of the day, that was voluntary. It’s mandatory, and I’m here now.”
Boutte, the Patriots’ third-leading receiver in 2025 and a big-play threat, is entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract and could find himself pushed down the depth chart after the Patriots acquired wide receiver A.J. Brown in a trade and Romeo Doubs in free agency.
“I mean, I wouldn’t mind being here. I do want to be here, obviously, but I mean, at the end of the day, I do want to be here, so whether that’s at X (receiver), Z (receiver), F (slot receiver), like just whatever I got to do, that’s best for me,” Boutte said. “So, whether it’s learning the playbook more, moving around, I mean, it’s only one football, it’s five of us, you know. But that’s football at the end of the day, you don’t know who it’s going to. So, I mean, obviously, learning the playbooks, different positions, I hope.”
Head coach Mike Vrabel said before practice that he expected Boutte to be limited. That was not the case. Boutte was a full participant in Tuesday’s minicamp session. He caught one pass from backup quarterback Tommy DeVito. He just missed a long touchdown reception from DeVito early in 11-on-11s, but one foot landed outside of the end zone.