FOXBOROUGH – Kayshon Boutte was riding high.
A few days after catching a go-ahead touchdown to help the Patriots topple the Titans, the receiver was back at his Massachusetts home doing what he loves — playing with his 3-year-old son, Kylan.
The father-son duo kicked a soccer ball together and then ran around the backyard with their dog, a 100-pound, 1-year-old Cane Corso named Bella.
The receiver was tired and recovering from his second straight road game, but in the moment, his joy at being a father outweighed his need for sleep.
“You just have to learn how to balance life outside of football,” Boutte said. “It can be tiring, but I mean, it’s all worth it.”
Boutte’s football journey hasn’t been easy, but the 23-year-old is finally on the right path and is in a place where he always knew he would be: as a confident, capable receiver in the NFL.
After signing with LSU out of high school, it seemed certain. He was projected to be the next in the line of great Tigers receivers.
A broken ankle during his sophomore year at LSU required two surgeries and a long recovery. This setback cost him performance, draft position, money and reputation.
An elite prep runner, Boutte did not perform as well in 2022 following the coaching change at LSU, leading to a disappointing season that caused him to declare for the NFL Draft following his junior season.
The wide receiver fell to the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
“I wasn’t going to sit there and beat myself up about it,” Boutte said. “The only way to get through it was work.”
Boutte never stopped believing.
In his third season with the Patriots, he looks like the player who generated so many expectations early on. Those who know him say Boutte’s resurgence in New England should come as no surprise.
“I always knew I could get back to where I was,” Boutte said. “I feel like everyone stopped believing for a second. I feel like everyone is back on the train now. It just keeps going on. But I don’t really get into a lot of noise. Just be me at the end of the day.”
a natural talent
Boute was bored, so naturally, he went outside to play with Ali.
To Boutte, who was 5 years old, the black lab seemed very large. To entertain himself, Boutte chased the family dog around his family’s property.
But when Ali chased him, Boute realized how athletic he was. As the years passed, it became increasingly difficult for the Black Lab to catch him.
“You know how they always say, when you’re scared you run faster?” Bout said. “It was just the idea of a dog chasing me and then running away from it. I think doing that really gets you up to your full speed. And I think that’s when I started getting on track and running football.”
Growing up in New Iberia in southern Louisiana, Boutte started playing football at the age of 5. He was a standout athlete on the track and a legend in youth football. By middle school, he was being recruited by other high schools, but he chose to stay in his hometown and play for Westgate.
Westgate coach Ryan Antoine, who first saw Bout in sixth grade, said, “Every time he touched the ball, he was scoring. His speed was phenomenal.” “You could tell he was a natural athlete. He was just different.”
A year before the bout took place, Westgate was 0-10. He went to high school as a running back, where the team showcased his excellent speed. Even before his first game, Boutte made a list of goals. He wanted:
- To earn a football scholarship to LSU
- Win a Louisiana state championship in track.
He won the 400-meter state title, surpassing one of those as a freshman. He also added a state championship in the 60 meter race to his resume. Boutte also set Westgate High School records in the 100 meters (10.97), 200 meters (21.25) and 100 meter hurdles (15.47).
The switch to receiver as a sophomore helped him achieve a sophomore. It took him two seasons to achieve a dream, signing with LSU.
“I’ve never had a kid who wanted to compete like Kayshawn,” Antoine said. “It could be shooting a basketball, it could be hanging out, it could be arriving earlier to lunch. Kayshawn is going to compete, and he’s not going to stop until he’s the best at it.”
bout came back too soon
When he arrived on campus, Boutte had high expectations.
At LSU, wide receivers coach Mickey Joseph had a type. He only wanted to recruit athletes he thought could be selected in the first round. That’s why they successfully recruited Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, and Terrace Marshall.
After Jefferson, Chase and Marshall’s time in Baton Rouge ended, Joseph had a plan to refill LSU’s receiver room. It starts with Boutte (Class of 2020), Malik Nabors (2021) and Brian Thomas (2021).
“(Bouté) is one of them. He’s at the top of the charts talent-wise,” Joseph said. “I wouldn’t have dealt with you if I didn’t think you were going to be a high draft pick one day… He’s dealt with some injuries, but I always thought he was a first-round talent.”
All of the above receivers except second-round pick Marshall went in the first round. Boute’s decline was due to an ankle injury and new coach Brian Kelly’s staff, which did not know him.
In 2020, when Chase and Marshall opted out of the COVID season, Bout became the Tigers’ top option. In his last game, the true freshman set an SEC record by catching 14 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns against Ole Miss.
Boutte caught nine passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns in the first game of his sophomore year. However, five weeks later, his world came crashing down. On October 9 he broke his ankle. Eight days later, LSU coach Ed Orgeron was fired. The series of events was devastating.
Boutte required multiple ankle surgeries and still has two steel plates and six screws inside his leg. The recovery was brutal. After graduation, on crutches, Boutte made his way around the LSU campus on a motor scooter. As the depression increased, so did the embarrassment.
The once-promising receiver fell off his scooter the first time he walked around campus.
“I was a little hurt at first,” Boutte said. “Frustrated, just trying to figure out how to get through everything, not being able to walk. Now crutches. Now, falling off scooters, scooters, trying to get used to the change.”
The following season, Brian Kelly took over at LSU. Despite the surgery and reduced bout speed, the program cleared him for offseason activities in June after holding him out in the spring.
Joseph knew this was wrong.
“They brought him back very quickly. It means not knowing the kids. If you know, Keyshawn, he’ll tell you, ‘I’m good, coach, I’m ready to go,'” Joseph said. “But as a coach, you have to know the kid and say, ‘Ah, he’s not good. He is not doing well. But if you didn’t recruit him, you wouldn’t know how he fared in high school. You don’t know how he went when he first came (to LSU).
“When they were talking about feeding him, I said, ‘It’s too soon. He’s going to hurt his ankle again.'”
It was difficult for Joseph to watch Bout play in his final season at LSU. He shuddered when he saw him run at the NFL Combine.
As a senior in high school, Boutte ran a 4.37 40-yard dash. At the combine, Bout ran a 4.50 and his draft stock fell.
new found maturity
Boutte was 20 years old when the Patriots selected him. Three years later, he is still one of the youngest players on the roster. After getting early success, he needed to mature.
In 2024, he was arrested on underage gambling and fraud charges after betting on sporting events at LSU. The charges were dropped after Boutte completed a gambling awareness program, and due to him no longer placing bets against himself or the team.
As a rookie, he caught two passes for 19 yards and was buried on the depth chart by Bill Belichick after failing to get his feet in bounds on a fourth-quarter pass in his first NFL game.
In his second NFL season, Boutte became openly frustrated with his lack of targets, revealing that he “demanded” to see more passes in a game against Houston.
Even from a distance, Antoine could see Boutte’s frustration.
“It made me angry. Kayshawn is near and dear to me,” Antoine said. “I know what a great person the kid is, and so people saw something that was from a completely different perspective.”
Joseph was also worried. He visited Boutte during a game in Miami during his rookie season. He sensed the receiver was not getting along well with Belichick and gave him a pep talk. Joseph told him to keep his head held high and not do anything that would tarnish his image with the Patriots staff.
“It seemed like Belichick didn’t really care about him too much,” Joseph said. “I think (Mike) Vrabel runs a different ship. I think it’s a better culture, better environment. And it’s a good fit for him.”
The low points have made this season all the sweeter for Boute and those who have always been in his corner. Realizing he needed to grow up, that happened on the field and at home.
His maturity has been one of the biggest stories of the Patriots’ 2025 season.
This year, he’s looking like that five-star recruit. Before suffering a hamstring injury in Week 9, Boutte was on pace to surpass the 900-yard receiving mark this season. He was second in the NFL in yards per reception (18.7) and eighth in touchdown catches. The receiver returned to action last week in Cincinnati.
“I’ve seen a lot of people turn their back on him. I’ve seen a lot of people forget who this kid really is,” Antoine said. “And now he’s humbled, and now he’s hungry, and now he’s back to the Kayshon I always knew.”
Part of his development came at home. The new maturity gained from fatherhood has led to better results with the Patriots.
Four days after playing football with his son, Boutte was the in-game captain for the Patriots’ matchup with the Browns. The receiver finished with 75 yards and a touchdown on the day. He is proud of who he has become.
“As life goes on, you mature. Honestly, the further you go, the more you grow,” Boutte said. “I think a part of what I’ve been through has shaped me into who I am today.”
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