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The Houston Texans are making a late trade as the regular season approaches, acquiring wide receiver Kayshon Boutte from the New England Patriots. Boutte was on the trade block for much of the offseason as the Patriots made several additions to their wide receiver room, including A.J. Brown. Boutte's contract expires after the season, which limited New England's leverage and gave Houston a chance to add a talented receiver for a year. Trade! The Patriots are sending WR Kayshon Boutte to the Texans for safety Jaylen Reed and a draft pick, sources tell @ringer @netflixsports. pic.twitter.com/NZXCdOX4RT — Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 24, 2026 Both these teams have Super Bowl aspirations, as they even played in the playoffs last year, making this trade a fascinating deal. Down the road, it is certainly possible that they will have to go through each other once again to make a Super Bowl run. With the regular season just a few weeks away, this is the last time for teams to make changes to their rosters before the games count. Here's how the Patriots and Texans did in this deal. MORE: Why Browns named Deshaun Watson starting QB over Shedeur Sanders Kayshon Boutte trade grades Texans grade: A - Texans get: WR Kayshon Boutte The Texans needed to add to their wide receiver room after Jayden Higgins suffered a season-ending injury, and they were lucky that someone of Boutte's caliber was available. Boutte instantly slots in as an outside receiver behind Nico Collins, giving depth to a Houston wide receiver room that has injury issues. Boutte has produced at least 550 receiving yards in each of the last two seasons and can stretch the field, an element that will pair nicely with Collins. The Texans' offense certainly needed more explosiveness, which is what Boutte will provide with his speed. Houston's defense is perhaps the best in the league, making it so that the offense just needs to be good enough to be one of the best teams in the league. That will depend on the play of fourth-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, and Boutte should help Stroud play to that level. In return, Houston doesn't give up much, as a late-round pick and safety Jaylen Reed head to the Patriots. While Boutte is a free agent after the season, the Texans have Super Bowl aspirations and can afford to worry about the 2027 offseason once the 2026 season is over. Patriots grade: B - Patriots receive: S Jaylen Reed, 2028 7th-round pick (via Saints) During the offseason, the Patriots acquired wide receivers A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, creating a deep wide receiver room. Therefore, despite Boutte's strong connection with Drake Maye, the fourth-year player became expendable, especially with the emergence of Kyle Williams as the team's primary third receiver. Considering that the Patriots had very little leverage, they did OK to get back a roster-able player in Jaylen Reed, who played in seven games as a rookie last year. Boutte's talent certainly warrants a bigger return, but no team would give up much for a player who will surely be a free agent in nine months. It's been an open secret that the Patriots were shopping Boutte, making him the casualty of a strong depth chart. It's a sign of the Patriots' improvements that someone like Boutte is expendable, even if he was a big reason why the team improved so much last year in the first place. The Patriots will not be measuring the trade of Boutte by their return, but instead by whether they need wide receiver depth this year. If Brown, Doubs and Williams combine to form a dynamic trio, then trading Boutte will not be seen as a big deal. But if somewhere down the line the Patriots do need wide receiver help, then maybe they will regret trading Boutte in a year when they are gunning for another Super Bowl. AFC EAST BETTING PREVIEWS: - Buffalo Bills odds, futures and props - Miami Dolphins odds, futures and props - New England Patriots odds, futures and props - New York Jets odds, futures and props