FOXBORO, Mass. — With two starting receivers sidelined by injuries, the Patriots challenged their young wideouts to step up in practice this week.
At least one of them met that challenge.
Head coach Bill Belichick said sixth-round rookie Kayshon Boutte enjoyed arguably his best week of practice as New England prepared for its Week 9 matchup with the Washington Commanders at Gillette Stadium.
“I think this has probably been his best week,” Belichick said Friday morning. “… Performance, consistency, assignments, production. Practice is practice, but there are opportunities out there for everybody. You either take advantage of them or don’t take advantage of them.”
That response was notable, as Belichick hasn’t exactly gushed about Boutte’s development this season. Just one week earlier, his reply to a question about the LSU product included the line: “The guys who perform the best play the most. The guys who don’t need to perform better.”
Boutte has not played since Week 1, but he expects to draw back into the lineup this Sunday with Kendrick Bourne on injured reserve with a torn ACL and DeVante Parker working his way back from a concussion. Parker returned to practice Friday, but his game status remained uncertain.
Belichick’s praise for another depth option was more muted. Asked about 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton, who, like Boutte, was a healthy scratch for last week’s loss in Miami, Belichick replied: “He missed some time, but he did all he could do.”
“Got back as quick as he could, and he’s been out there and is trying to take advantage of his opportunities, too,” Belichick said of Thornton, who spent the first five weeks on IR following a preseason shoulder injury. “There aren’t any issues with their work ethic or their preparation or what they’ve tried to do on the practice field. We’ll see how it translates on Sunday.”
Unless Parker can play seven days after his concussion — a rarity in the NFL — the Patriots’ wideouts against Washington will be Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Reagor, Boutte and Thornton. Douglas should have the most prominent role, as he’s been by far the most impressive member of that group this season, but it’s unclear how the depth chart will shake out beneath him.
Smith-Schuster, a massive disappointment thus far, has 15 catches for 89 yards and one touchdown in six games with the Patriots. Thornton, Reagor and Boutte have two, one and zero receptions this season, respectively.
“They’ve all worked hard, tried to take advantage of their opportunities,” Belichick said. “We’ll see how it goes, but they’ve all put in a good week.”
