Vrabel: Kayshon Boutte ‘probably would have been inactive’ on Patriots roster
New England Patriots
“I tried to thank Kayshon as many times as I could.”
Had Kayshon Boutte not been traded by the Patriots earlier this week, there was a good chance that the talented wideout wouldn’t have been spotted on the gridiron at Seattle’s Lumen Field for Week 1 of the 2026 season.
Even with Boutte’s strong rapport with Drake Maye as the Patriots QB’s go-to target downfield, Mike Vrabel was honest on Thursday night when asked about where Boutte sat on New England’s depth chart going into a new season.
“That was one place [at wide receiver] where we do have some depth, and I think for all parties involved, that was probably the best thing,” Vrabel told reporters in Cleveland about the trade after New England’s 37-13 preseason loss to the Browns. “Without injuries, Kayshon probably would have been inactive. Unfortunately, it just, it’s kind of the way it was. It’s just with him not playing special teams.
“And I tried to thank Kayshon as many times as I could. I texted him again today. It’s just his maturity, his growth, his ability to put into words last year and share his own personal struggle, but also the growth that he made from that. That’s positively going to affect a lot of people. And I know that that wasn’t easy for him to do, and I tell him all the time about how much I respect him for being able to do that.”
New England ultimately traded Boutte to the Houston Texans on Monday in exchange for safety Jaylen Reed and a 2028 seventh-round pick. In a farewell message to the Patriots posted on Instagram Wednesday night, Boutte confirmed that he submitted a trade request in March.
Boutte’s desire for a fresh start was potentially rooted in losing his spot on the depth chart on a Patriots wideout room that eventually added both A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs this offseason.
But New England could have another internal option in place to take some of Boutte’s snaps in second-year pro Kyle Williams.
Williams’ impressive speed and release off the line make him a viable replacement for Boutte as a go-to target on heaves down the field for Maye — with Williams closing out the preseason with three touchdowns in three games.
Here’s what else Vrabel had to say after New England’s preseason finale:
Reacting to Gonzalez’ frustrations
The preseason slate might be over for New England, but one lingering storyline from the summer seemingly has no end in sight when it comes to Christian Gonzalez’ ongoing contract talks with the Patriots.
On Thursday, Vrabel was asked for his reaction to Gonzalez admitting his frustration with the lack of progress on these negotiations.
“I don’t have a reaction,” Vrabel said. “I have conversations with Christian, and I understand that this is probably something that’s difficult. I’ve never been in that position to this extent, and you try to treat it with class, but also … he and I communicate. … Our players are always free to feel how they want to feel, and you just have to stay patient and hope that we can continue to work to some sort of agreement.”
On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said that there is still a major impasse between Gonzalez and the Patriots on a new deal — even after Seattle CB Devon Witherspoon seemingly reset the market by signing a four-year, $132 million contract extension earlier this month.
“I don’t think that at any one point here that they’ve been close to a deal,” Schefter said. “And Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez have the same agent. So in a way, he can kind of dictate how this is going to go and see into the future in a better way than each of the two teams can.
“So Witherspoon was going to get done first, and it got done at an average of 33 [million] a year. The Patriots have not been in that category, but Witherspoon has established the benchmark, and the Patriots haven’t gone there, and they weren’t there before, and they don’t appear to be going there right now, and they’re off on the two sides of money.”
Waiting game continues for Harold Landry, Brenden Schooler
Most of the focus over the next few days will be on the Patriots’ roster cuts as they trim the roster from 90 players to a 53-man squad by 6 p.m. on Sunday.
But New England also needs to make a call on both veteran edge rusher Harold Landry and safety/special-teams ace Brenden Schooler.
Both Landry (PUP list) and Schooler (non-football injury/illness list) have not practiced yet during training camp. If neither player is activated by Sunday’s deadline, they will be required to miss at least the first four games of the 2026 season.
Vrabel acknowledged that there might still be a slim chance the veterans could make the cut and be activated before Sunday evening.
“I think we’ll just continue to see when we get back,” Vrabel said. “Those guys stayed back, Brenden Schooler and Harold both stayed back, and they have to be able to pass certain things, because once you take them off, that’s kind of what it is. And so we just want to be very careful and smart with them and not force them into anything. But on the same note that if they can do and relatively perform where we expect them to, or where they expect themselves to, that could be a possibility that we could be able to bring those guys off.”
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.