Kayshon Boutte, Rhamondre Stevenson, Christian Elliss all ruled out for Patriots Sunday in Tampa
The New England Patriots will be a bit shorthanded when they head to Tampa Bay to play Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers Sunday. Head coach Mike Vrabel said Friday that wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, running back Rhamondre Stevenson, and linebacker Christian Elliss will all miss the game.
Stevenson still has a toe injury and Ellis has a bad hip. Boutte suffered a hamstring injury in the second quarter last week against Atlanta and did not return to the game. The Patriots held on to beat the Falcons, 24-23 at Gillette Stadium. Vrabel described Boutte as day-to-day following the game.
The third-year wide receiver is having his best season in the NFL. So far in nine games, Boutte has 431 yards and career-highs in touchdowns (5) and average yards per reception (18.7). Boutte is on pace to set a career high in yardage as well. His previous high came with 589 yards in 2024.
With Boutte missing the game, rookie Kyle Williams is expected to see more opportunities after playing sparingly so far this year.
"I'm excited that he'll probably get an opportunity here, a little greater opportunity going forward. It's just a lot of different personnel groups and alignments. And so, I think he settled down and I think that he'll get an opportunity here moving forward," Vrabel said about Williams on Monday.
Sunday's game kicks off at 1 p.m. on WBZ-TV with the top CBS broadcast team of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson on the call for a Patriots game the first time since 2023.
You can find complete pregame and postgame coverage in the Boston area on WBZ. Pregame coverage starts at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, followed by The NFL Today.
After the game is over, WBZ will have live analysis and press conferences from Vrabel and quarterback Drake Maye on Patriots 5th Quarter.