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The New England Patriots traded for A.J. Brown and signed Romeo Doubs this offseason, leaving the wide receiver room in great shape both in it's star-power and its depth. But not long before the regular season could begin, the Patriots made another WR roster move, this time trading away Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans. It's a strong WR room even after the move, so the trade does make some sense. However, during a recent press conference, Vrabel revealed a baffling plan the Patriots had with Boutte had he not been traded. Apparently, Boutte would've been a healthy inactive on game days had he not gotten traded this August. Mike Vrabel reveals Kayshon Boutte would not have played if he wasn't traded to Texans "Without injuries, Kayshon probably would've been inactive, unfortunately," Vrabel said. "Kind of the way it was, him not playing special teams." The plan for Boutte, had the Patriots not found a trade, would've been for him to be on the bench for game days. Not simply as a backup WR, but as a healthy scratch. Such a status is normally reserved for fringe roster players, not someone with the talent that Boutte has. This plan from the Patriots would be very odd. Doubs and Brown would start, but behind those two, Boutte would've likely been the third-best WR on the roster. DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism III are other notable receivers on this team, but none of them have the same big-play upside that Boutte has. MORE: Why Patriots traded Kayshon Boutte to Texans for Jaylen Reed and a 7th-round draft pick And yet, the Patriots' plan would've been for Boutte to be inactive on game day. After catching 33 passes for 551 yards and six touchdowns last season, and nine for 168 yards and a TD in the playoffs, Boutte would've been riding the bench had he not been traded. Boutte was in lockstep with Hollins as the No. 2 WR in New England last year. While Brown and Doubs would've made Boutte's workload less than it was in 2025, he still would've been a quality WR to have on the roster. While his lack of special teams involvement is a real factor, not making Boutte active on game days would've been a baffling decision for the Patriots. This is a very interesting admission from Vrabel after the trade of Boutte to the Texans. Despite his large role last year, Boutte became the odd-man-out in New England and apparently was not in the Patriots' plans for the 2026 season at all. More NFL news: - Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux has 30% chance of being traded - Cowboys projected to have 90% chance of trading Marist Liufau - Dolphins have NFL’s worst WR, TE, Edge, CB and S rooms according to ESPN - Deshaun Watson apologizes to Browns fans after criticizing them for booing him - Why Browns are making a massive mistake with Deshaun Watson as QB1 over Shedeur Sanders