Patriots WR Could Play in Wild Card Showdown vs. Chargers

It’s about time. For the first time in seven years, the Patriots are hosting playoff football at Gillette Stadium, and fittingly, it’s a rematch with the Chargers, the last team to roll into Foxborough for a postseason game.

New England opens as a comfortable favorite, which tracks for a home squad led by a legit MVP frontrunner and a coach squarely in the Coach of the Year conversation.

Still, this isn’t a walkover. The Chargers bring a savvy head coach and a quarterback who can flip a game script in a hurry, so overlooking them would be a mistake.

That said, the Patriots head into the Wild Card matchup with a few injury question marks worth monitoring.

Dec 1, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (9) catches a pass for a touchdown against New York Giants cornerback Cor'Dale Flott (28) during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

New England Patriots Facing Late Injury Question at Wide Receiver

The Patriots might be shorthanded at wideout when the lights come on Sunday night.

New England’s No. 2 receiver Kayshon Boutte is officially questionable for the Wild Card showdown against the Chargers after popping up on Thursday’s injury report with a hamstring issue, per Tom Christ on X. Boutte logged two limited practices to close the week, leaving his status very much up in the air.

Kayshon Boutte #patriots

Questionable with a hamstring strain. If he plays this can impact top speed and WRs see a 15% performance dip 👇🏻
— Tom Christ, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT (@FantasyInjuryT) January 11, 2026

If he can’t go, the Patriots won’t panic, they’ll lean into what’s been working lately: power football.

Over the last month, New England has gone full jumbo, dialing up nearly 12 runs per game with an extra offensive lineman on the field. The results? A whopping 8.7 yards per carry and seven rushing touchdowns out of those heavy sets. Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson both punched it in behind six offensive linemen against Miami last weekend, and expect more of the same against a Chargers front that’ll have to match the Pats’ physicality snap after snap.

Still, losing Boutte would sting. The former sixth-round pick from the Bill Belichick era has taken a real leap in year three, emerging as Drake Maye’s go-to vertical weapon. Boutte has hauled in 33 catches for 551 yards and six scores, adding real juice to New England’s passing attack.

The Patriots may already be bracing for that possibility. On Saturday, they elevated practice squad wideout Jeremiah Webb ahead of kickoff. A move that suggests Boutte’s availability isn’t guaranteed.

Final word will come about 90 minutes before the 8 p.m. ET kickoff. Until then, consider Boutte truly 50-50, and the Patriots fully prepared to win in the trenches if needed.

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