Bill Belichick gave Kayshon Boutte a strong vote of confidence as the rookie wide receiver appears likely to be back on the field for the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Ahead of Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders, Belichick said that Boutte's had a strong week on the practice field after Kendrick Bourne and Devante Parker suffered injuries in the loss to the Miami Dolphins.
“I think this has probably been his best week, yeah,” Belichick told reporters on Friday when asked if Boutte's taken advantage of the situation this week after he said that the receivers “have all put in a good week.”
Belichick was asked in a follow-up what made him say that this was Boutte's best week so far this season.
“His best week in practice,” Belichick simply stated. The Patriots coach explained a bit more though on what he likes to see out of players in practice.
“Performance, consistency, assignments, production – practice is practice, but there are opportunities out there for everybody,” Belichick said. “You either take advantage of them or don’t take advantage of them.”
Boutte has been out of the Patriots' lineup since New England's season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. While he hasn't been hurt and has remained on the active roster over the last two months, the Patriots opted to make Boutte a healthy scratch in each of their last seven games despite some receivers suffering injuries and others underperforming.
What role Boutte will play on Sunday if he suits up is unclear. But if we looked at where he played in Week 1, it can be assumed that Boutte would likely play on the outside. He played 55 snaps in that game as Parker also missed Week 1, slotting into Parker's role as an outside receiver.
However, Boutte didn't have much production in that game, failing to record a reception on four targets. In fact, he caught the ball on two of his targets but failed to keep both of his feet inbounds to make the reception, including on the Patriots' final offensive play of the game as they trailed, 25-20 late.
Bill Belichick also had kind words about Tyquan Thornton
In addition to Boutte likely seeing more playing time this week, Thornton also appears to have the opportunity to see the field this week. The second-year wideout has played just 28 offensive snaps this season, missing the first five weeks of the year due to injury and missing last week's game as a healthy gameday scratch.
Belichick shared some insight on where Thornton's at ahead of Sunday's game.
“He missed some time, but he did all he could do, got back as quick as he could,” Belichick said. “He’s been out there and is trying to take advantage of his opportunities, too. So, none of the issues with their work ethic, their preparation, or what they’ve tried to do on the practice field. We’ll see how it translates on Sunday.”