Maybe THIS is the week that Kayshon Boutte sees the field again for the Patriots

BOSTON -- Throughout last week, all signs were pointing toward Patriots rookie receiver Kayshon Boutte getting back on the football field come Sunday. But then 90 minutes prior to kickoff against the Washington Commanders, Boutte was on New England's inactive list for the eighth straight Sunday.

So let's play this game again: Maybe this is the weekend that Boutte takes meaningful snaps for New England. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick once again sang the praises of Boutte on Friday -- this time from Frankfurt, Germany --  when asked if the sixth-round pick of out LSU may see some action Sunday morning against the Colts.

"We'll see how that goes," Belichick said. "Kayshon's had a good couple weeks here. It's definitely trending in the right direction. That's been good."

Belichick belted out a similar tune last week when it came to Boutte playing for the first time since Week 1. But then the record skipped and Boutte was back to being inactive come Sunday. (Reports say that Boutte talking about potentially playing on Friday rubbed Belichick the wrong way.) After New England's loss to the Commanders last week, Belichick said that tight end Mike Gesicki served as the team's fifth receiver. 

Gesicki caught neither of the two passes that went his way against Washington.

It's not that Boutte will completely turn around New England's floundering offense. He was a highly touted prospect ahead of the draft, but behavioral issues saw his stock plummet. He may not even be an NFL-caliber receiver based on what we saw in his lone game at the professional level. Boutte recorded no catches on four targets in Week 1 against the Eagles, and has been benched since failing to get both feet in bounds on a would-be reception at the end of the game, costing the Pats a chance at victory.

But at this point, what do the Patriots have to lose? Second-year receiver Tyquan Thornton hasn't done anything and was benched last week. DeVante Parker will miss a second straight week with a concussion. 

Mac Jones is left with just Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and castoff Jalen Reagor as his options at receiver, with Gesicki pretending to be one as well. Kendrick Bourne isn't walking through that door, so why not give Boutte another shot?

Belichick is making it sound like Boutte will get another chance come Sunday against the Colts. But given how last week played out, we won't know if the rookie will get that chance until early Sunday morning.