FOXBOROUGH - While A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs have been works in progress to start training camp, Kayshon Boutte has hit the ground running. He had deep-ball catches in each of the first three days of practice (I’m ignoring the walkthrough on Monday) and has looked very comfortable, which is how it should be, given this being his third season playing pitch-and-catch with Drake Maye.
“It’s been exactly the same as last year,” Mike Vrabel said before Thursday’s session. “He’s very professional, ready to go, knows what to do and takes advantage of his opportunities. It’s been great to see him show up and be productive early in camp, just as he was last year. I have a lot of respect for him, and I’ve told him that. I’m excited he’s gotten off to a good start.”
But before you get carried away, per league sources, Boutte remains very much available for trade, as has been the case the entirety of this offseason. And even though he once again publicly professed his desire to remain in New England, Boutte would welcome a bigger opportunity elsewhere.
“I mean, we all hear a lot of the stuff that's going on, Boutte said after practice. "My main focus is just I'm here until I ain't. I'm here today; if I'm somewhere else next week, or the week after, that's kind of what it is. That's part of the business. Taking every day, day-by-day, not thinking about what's next."
This is simply a numbers game, both with regards to targets and dollars and cents. Despite being the Patriots’ primary ‘X’ receiver last season in an offense that featured an MVP-caliber season from Maye, Boutte finished the year with just 33 catches (and added 9 more in the playoffs). The team then added Brown and Doubs, outlaying significant money and, in acquiring Brown, draft capital.
You combine that with Boutte entering the final year of his rookie deal, one that didn’t pay him much considering where he was selected (6th round), and you should understand where the player is coming from.
“Truth be told, I think if you were in a contract year at your reporting job, you would want that to be your best year,” Boutte said. “Whatever that looks like for me, we’ll look at all our options and see.”
A trade could also benefit the team, although the likelihood of getting anything more than a late-round pick remains slim. However, getting Boutte off the roster would open up more opportunities for Kyle Williams, who remains a favorite of the coaching staff and brings an entirely different skill set than anyone else in that crowded wide receiver room (he reeled in a pair of TDs from Tommy DeVito during 11-on-11 red zone work today).
“Well, I love having depth, but I would say that we’re always going to try to look to improve, whether that’s by adding draft capital, obtaining a player or keeping the guys we have,” Vrabel said when asked if they’d be willing to trade one of their established WRs.
In other words, the phone lines are open, as they have been. But in the meantime, Boutte continues to display a level of growth and maturity that would have been hard to predict during his rookie campaign.
“Me and Kyle was talking yesterday, and I was just like, 'Don't worry about what the next guy doing. You know, everybody gonna make plays, but don't let that affect your opportunities.’” he said. “Like at the end of the day, you gonna get your opportunities. One practice it might be one catch. Next practice might be four. It varies. You never know where the ball gonna go. But like I told him, make the most of those opportunities. Y'all seen it today.”
Just as we’ve seen it with Boutte all camp.
ROOKIE GETTING THE MESSAGE
On just about every scouting report I received on Caleb Lomu - and any you could find online - the biggest negative on the athletic tackle was his ability to sustain blocks and finish plays. That’s why, to a degree, his selection opened some eyes league-wide, with folks around the league wondering if he was a good fit for Vrabel.
Maybe Lomu heard all the noise. Maybe Vrabel and offensive line coach Doug Marrone have been repeating that to their 2026 first-rounder. Maybe Lomu knows it himself, and didn’t need to be reminded, but on the first day of pads, the big fella had a couple of reps where the defender he was blocking ended up on his back.
“Finishing is the biggest key as an offensive lineman,” Lomu told us after the first day in full pads. “Got to be able to know what to do, and then do it with a violent demeanor and be able to finish, finish longer than the guy with the ball, is what we say. …
“You're going to have those plays where the quarterback back starts to scramble, or the running back switches ways and goes all the way along the field. So you've got to be able to strain as long as you can, strain longer than the guy you're going against, and then being able to finish.”
For those counting at home, that’s four references to finishing over 19 seconds (I timed it). He added two more in the same answer that I removed because he was repeating himself (you’re welcome). Point is, Lomu understands how he needs to play if he’s to carve out a role for himself on the ‘26-’27 Patriots. The team has certainly opened the door for him, whether it be as Morgan Moses’ replacement when the veteran is being managed, or as the jumbo tight end. And though Lomu’s been a career-long left tackle, he’s adjusting nicely to the right side.
“You just got to flip the hands and the feet, and then that's really it,” he said. “I feel super comfortable at right, right now. Just got to get down the footwork and the hand techniques, but then it's just football at the end of the day.”
ONE FINAL NOTE
We spoke with Mike Onwenu for the first time since he reworked his contract at the end of March. The alteration lowered his cap hit from $25 million to $17.5 million for the 2026 season, while also guaranteeing the guard nearly $9 million (he had zero guaranteed dollars left in this, the final year of a three-year deal).
“They approached me,” Onwenu said. “It was just kind of like business. I mean, obviously the contract is the contract, but you know I'm just excited to get back to ball and get back with my boys that we just went to the Super Bowl, (to) get back there again.”
Onwenu hasn’t missed a game over the last two seasons, and by the second half of 2025, was playing at a Pro Bowl-caliber level.