HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans acquired wide receiver Kayshon Boutte in a trade with the New England Patriots on Monday.
Houston sent safety Jaylen Reed, who played in seven games as a sixth-round rookie in 2025, and a 2028 seventh-round draft pick to the Patriots for Boutte.
The trade comes a week after Houston lost wide receiver Jayden Higgins to a torn ACL during joint practices with the Las Vegas Raiders. Higgins was projected to be the Texans' No. 2 wideout alongside Nico Collins. The 2025 second-round pick had 525 receiving yards and six touchdowns as a rookie.
Boutte, who enters the final year of his contract, started 10 games last season and totaled 33 receptions for 551 yards and six touchdowns. He had nine touchdown receptions over the past two seasons, tied with tight end Hunter Henry for the most by any Patriots player over that span.
After the Patriots traded for receiver A.J. Brown on June 1 and signed Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $68 million deal in March, Boutte's role in the offense was going to look different. The Patriots also have DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III at receiver, creating a logjam.
The Patriots selected the 5-foot-11, 203-pound Boutte in the sixth round of the 2023 draft out of LSU.
In Houston, the hope is that Boutte can fill some of the void left by the loss of Higgins. Higgins had a strong training camp and appeared ready to blossom into a dynamic player for the Texans. That's why coach DeMeco Ryans called the loss "significant."
Boutte joins a wide receivers room featuring Xavier Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel, Tank Dell, Justin Watson and Lewis Bond behind Collins.
ESPN's Mike Reiss contributed to this report.
