Inactives Analysis: Who Fills in for Boutte, Stevenson and Elliss for the Patriots in Sunday’s Game vs. the Bucs?
New England’s game-day inactives are WR Kayshon Boutte (hamstring), RB Rhamondre Stevenson (toe), LB Christian Elliss (hip), DT Eric Gregory, G Caedan Wallace, FS John Saunders, and QB Tommy DeVito is the emergency third quarterback. For Tampa Bay, the Bucs inactives are WR Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula), RB Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder), OLB Haason Reddick (ankle/knee), and OLB Markees Watts (hand), T Luke Haggard, G Elijah Klein, and DT C.J. Brewer.
Starting on offense, the Patriots are shorthanded at the skill positions after having been relatively healthy for most of the season. New England will play without starting ‘X’ receiver Kayshon Boutte, who has developed into one of the NFL’s best deep threats this season. Boutte is currently tied for third with six catches on deep pass attempts (20+ air yards) and has the highest EPA per target among qualified wide receivers (+0.98). Due to his excellent efficiency and deep-ball ability, Boutte leaves behind a substantial void in the passing game. Luckily, it appears that Boutte’s absence will be short-term, but he’ll miss at least Sunday’s game.
As for who could replace QB Drake Maye’s best outside deep threat, head coach Mike Vrabel indicated earlier this week that third-rounder Kyle Williams will play more on Sunday. Williams has only played 21.1% of the offensive snaps with just six targets so far in his rookie season, mainly because he’s learning behind veterans such as Boutte, Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins, and DeMario Douglas. The 69th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft has also had some struggles with getting on the same page with Maye, with only two catches for 20 yards on his six targets.
Although it hasn’t been overly productive, Williams is showing flashes of separation ability. The rookie has explosive releases running vertical stems on the outside, and with the deep ball being a strength of Maye’s, it feels like a matter of time before Maye and Williams connect on a deep target, which they did a few times in camp over the summer. Along with Williams, Hollins can play on the outside as a bigger target who also contributes as a blocker. Hollins may play the ‘X’ on early downs with Williams playing in passing situations this week.
At running back, New England elevated veteran D’Ernest Johnson from the practice squad for the second consecutive week. Along with returning kickoffs with WR Efton Chism III, Johnson will likely be RB3 in the Patriots backfield behind rookie TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings. Johnson didn’t play a snap on offense in Week 9, with Henderson (51) and Jennings (17) splitting the backfield snaps in the win over the Falcons. On Sunday, one would expect that the Patriots will stick with a similar backfield mix unless Johnson is called upon in pass protection.
Entering the week, Tampa Bay’s defense ranked seventh in blitz rate at 35%, which is a hallmark of head coach Todd Bowles’ defensive scheme. Stevenson, who will miss his second straight game due to his toe injury, is the Patriots best pass-blocking running back. Henderson has had some ups and downs in that regard, while Jennings is inexperienced in pass-blocking, and Johnson has yet to play on offense in a Patriots uniform. Johnson has primarily played in the passing game in his previous stops, so he does have experience, but it’s unclear whether or not the seventh-year pro is up to speed with the Patriots playbook to play on offense.
The Patriots backs will need to hold up in blitz pickup at times, but Sunday’s game could be a big week for New England’s running backs catching passes out of the backfield. Tampa Bay’s defense is 29th in expected points added (EPA) on throws to running backs (+0.25), and is allowing the most yards per game to backs (53.7), with offenses throwing short passes into the Bucs blitzes. Given the success teams are having throwing to the backs vs. the Bucs, it could be a big week for Henderson, whose speed as a receiver might be hugely beneficial.
QB Drake Maye’s Supporting Cast
OL – LT Campbell, LG Wilson, C Bradbury, RG Onwenu, RT Moses
WR – Diggs, Hollins, Douglas, Williams, Chism III
TE – Henry, Hooper, Westover (FB)
RB – Henderson, Jennings, Johnson
Although the Patriots are missing key pieces at the skill positions, New England projects to start the same offensive line for the ninth time in 10 games. Starting C Garrett Bradbury was managing a hip injury during the practice week, but Bradbury didn’t carry an injury designation into Sunday’s game. The Pats continuity has been a massive part of their improvement along the offensive line this season, and they’ll need a big performance in the trenches again this week, with Tampa Bay ranking fourth in pressure rate (39.8%).
Moving over to the defense and special teams, the only shakeup for the Patriots will be at linebacker with Elliss missing Sunday’s game due to a hip injury. Elliss has been New England’s primary weakside linebacker next to captain Robert Spillane, logging a QB hit and a hurry as a blitzer before exiting last week’s win. Elliss also contributes to three different special-teams units, ranking fifth on the team in special teams snaps this season (114), so the Pats will also have to replace Elliss there.
At linebacker, the expectation is that the Patriots will continue splitting early-down duties between Jack Gibbens and Jahlani Tavai. Gibbens was the next man up when Elliss went down in the win over the Falcons, with Tavai only playing six defensive snaps. In the passing game, LB Marte Mapu took over for Elliss, playing eight snaps as a coverage linebacker. On Saturday, the Pats elevated LB Darius Harris from the practice squad to likely fill in for Elliss on special teams.
The Patriots have some linebacker depth to fill the voids left behind by Elliss, while the defense has no other significant injuries. Edge rusher Caleb Murphy is also active for the first time since being claimed by the Patriots on Oct. 20. Murphy could add some pass-rush juice behind starters Harold Landry III and K’Lavon Chaisson, while also contributing on special teams. Lastly, All-Pro CB Christian Gonzalez didn’t carry an injury designation into Sunday’s game after being evaluated for a concussion in last week’s win vs. the Falcons. Gonzalez will likely shadow Bucs first-rounder Emeka Egbuka, which will be a good matchup to watch, as the rookie receiver is having an outstanding first season in Tampa Bay.
The Bucs offense is extremely shorthanded. Future Hall of Fame WR Mike Evans (broken collarbone), WR Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula), and top RB Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder) are all out for Tampa Bay. The Bucs will get starting RT Luke Goedeke back from injured reserve this week. But the Patriots defense should match up well with Tampa Bay’s remaining playmakers, with Gonzalez shadowing Egbuka, a speed-on-speed matchup between NCB Marcus Jones and rookie WR Tez Johnson, and a mix of defenders keeping an eye on TE Cade Otton. In theory, the Pats defense should have answers against the currently healthy skill group for Tampa Bay.
New England will try to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the road when it visits the Buccaneers at 1 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.
