Kayshon Boutte catches a touchdown against the Texans in the playoffs last season Credit: Screenshot
The great thing about an NFL training camp, in the content generation business, is that there are so many moving parts to an NFL team that there is never, ever a shortage of conversation. With that, there are always some healthy debates and discussions, but there also aspects of a team that, through camp, become indisputable, and practically fact.
One of those indisputable talking points at Houston Texans training camp this summer was that wide receiver Jayden Higgins was on the verge of a breakout season, prior to tearing his ACL and practice against the Las Vegas Raiders last week. Higgins was undeniably one of the top five players in camp, and there were days he was the best player.
Now, to be clear, losing Higgins changes nothing about the expectations for the Texans overall this year. They are still on the short list of Super Bowl contenders. However, the variations of things that they could do offensively and ways they could attack opposing defenses, some of that went away as they wheel Higgins into the operating room for ACL surgery.
Nick Caserio, the Texans GM, probably knew that move needed to be made to bring in some replacement fire power in Higgins absence, so Caserio did on Monday what good general managers do — he made a trade. On Monday afternoon, the Texans acquired Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte from the New England Patriots in exchange for Jaylen Reed and a 2028 seventh round draft pick.
Boutte has an interesting backstory, as he burst upon the scene at LSU in 2020 when Ja’Marr Chase opted out of the COVID season. In 2020 and 2021, he was impressive enough to where he was considered a first round pick in mock drafts heading into his third season in 2022. However, Boutte and new LSU head coach Brian Kelly were like oil and water, and Boutte fell to the sixth round of the 2023 draft. Additionally, off the field, he got caught up in a 2024 gambling investigation, where he was alleged to have placed thousands of bets while underage at LSU. While he was cleared of those charges, he did admit to having some gambling issues while at LSU.
On the field, Boutte has far outplayed his sixth round draft status, as over the last two seasons, he’s caught 76 passes for 1,140 yards and nine touchdowns. In fact, he’s had some of his more significant moments in his career versus the Texans. In 2024, he scored his first career touchdown in a Week 6 loss to the Texans, and in last season’s Patriots playoff win over the Texans, Boutte had three catches for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Like Higgins, Boutte is a big bodied receiver whose specialties are contested catches and deep routes. He’s not a technician in terms of running every route on the tree, but the things he does well, he does VERY well. He’s is undeniably an upgrade for a room that is on the verge of starting Xavier Hutchinson and having Jared Wayne and Lewis Bond as key depth pieces, no disrespect to any fo those guys. This is probably also an indicator of exactly how far away Tank Dell is from returning, which is a sad sidebar to an otherwise fun afternoon. It’s never a dull moment with Nick Caserio running things.
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