You shouldn’t expect the Patriots to make a trade for a wide receiver before the NFL trade deadline.

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has indicated as much with his prior commentary on New England’s trade deadline approach, and more recently with his sentiments of third-round rookie Kyle Williams.

“I’m excited that he’ll probably get an opportunity here, a little greater opportunity going forward,” Vrabel said of Williams some 24 hours before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.

Even the potential absence of wide receiver Kayshon Boutte won’t cause the Patriots to make a move at wide receiver, it seems. Boutte is day-to-day with a hamstring injury. The third-year wideout, who’s in the midst of a career campaign, suffered a hamstring injury in New England’s Week 9 win over the Falcons.

Boutte has 23 catches for 431 yards and a team-best five touchdowns in nine games. His contested-catch ability is one reason second-year quarterback Drake Maye has made such a drastic jump this season. He ranks second on the team in receiving yards (Stefon Diggs) behind 18.7 yards per reception.

Williams has been limited to two catches for 20 receiving yards in nine games.

“He had to play a lot of different positions and there’s a lot of moving parts,” Vrabel said of the 69th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. “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. … Kyle should be ready to go here for us.”

Patriots insiders Phil Perry and Tom E. Curran discussed whether Boutte’s injury should cause New England to make a move at the position.

“If this is a two-month hamstring injury, the one like Christian Gonzalez had at training camp, I think you need a downfield threat,” Perry said during the Patriots Talk podcast. “This is what Drake Maye does best. That is, arguably, the best thing that he does is throw down the field. And if they don’t have Kayshon Boutte, I don’t know who that guy is consistently.”

Perry noted DeMario Douglas (18 catches, 262 yards, three touchdowns) could take on some of that role.

He also name-dropped Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed as a potential trade deadline candidate given Shaheed’s explosive-play ability. Shaheed was linked to the Patriots in trade deadline speculation even before Boutte’s injury.

Phil Perry shares his thoughts on a potential Patriots trade and explains why Rashid Shaheed could be a strong addition

How would that go over with Boutte? Probably not great. And there’s something to be said about not hindering the dynamics in the room.

“One hamstring tweak and now I’m out of a job? I see how it is,” Perry said while speculating on Boutte’s line of thinking.

Nevertheless, both Perry and Curran believe the Patriots should act with a some aggressiveness ahead of Tuesday’s buzzer. New England sits atop the AFC East, currently holds the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture and has 11 picks in next year’s draft. Just because it might not have part of the plan doesn’t mean the Patriots can’t alter course a bit.

“I would air on the side of aggressiveness because I just I hate banking on the fact that you know how the future’s going to unfold,” Perry said. “You don’t.”

New England’s lackluster schedule as well as some external factors — Joe Burrow’s injury, for example — have provided the Patriots with an opportunity. Adding at wide receiver, edge rusher, running back or somewhere else, could help the group capitalize on it.

“Those picks are valuable, and I understand why they want to hold onto them,” Perry said. “But I wouldn’t just look at the season and say, ‘We weren’t expecting to be here and we got to stick to our plan. Even if we’re first in the conference, let’s not get crazy here. Let’s not do anything rash.’ Crazy is one thing, I would be a hair below crazy in terms of your trade deadline aggressiveness.”

Just don’t count on big trade for a big-time playmaker, it seems.