All 8,900 Charges of Illegal Gambling Against Kayshon Boutte Have Been Dropped, Making a Weird Story Even Weirder

Kevin Sabitus. Getty Images.

When the Patriots first reported for practices in May, Jerod Mayo faced the inevitable questions about Kayshon Boutte's status, given, y' know, the whole illegal gambling thing:

Mayo handled the question like a seasoned veteran and not a rookie coach taking his first baby steps by deflecting it with a vague, non-committal, "We will wait to hear from the league going forward, but he's out here. He is doing a good job for us."

But still, until the Pats did "hear from the league going forward," this was going to remain an issue. The NFL is taking baby steps of its own with respect to doing business with sports betting companies. And having an active player in the league facing nearly 9,000 charges of breaking the law wasn't going to be good for business. Add to the Patriots concern was that Boutte is entering just his second season after a rookie year that didn't establish him as a hill worth dying on. Here's what I wrote back in January when the charges were first made public:

Despite the fact they trusted him enough to give him 45 snaps in Week 1, he twice failed to get his feet in bounds on sideline routes. Including on the Pats last play from scrimmage, that resulted in a turnover on downs instead of keeping a potential game-winning drive alive. The whole rest of the season he took a grand total of 40 snaps.

Still, Mayo and the rest of the Pats braintrust took the "Let's not rush to judgment" approach. And it appears to have been the right call:

Fox News - New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte is no longer expected to face charges related to underage gambling and computer fraud. 

An attorney representing the NFL players told ESPN that the state of Louisiana has dropped the charges.

Boutte was taken into police custody in January after he was accused of placing multiple online sports wagers while he was underage. The majority of the alleged acts happened during Boutte's tenure with the LSU Tigers. …

Louisiana law stipulates that an individual must be at least 21-years-old to legally gamble. Boutte was 20 during the time period that the alleged bets took place. Investigators previously asserted that Boutte likely used an alias when he engaged with the betting platforms. 

Earlier this year, the NFL announced its intention to launch an independent probe into Boutte's alleged activities.

Investigators also claimed that several bets were made on college football games, including an estimated six games involving LSU.

Earlier this year, the NFL announced its intention to launch an independent probe into Boutte's alleged activities.

I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth here. I should be perfectly happy to just take the W and move on. But I can't help needing more explanation than this. I mean, it's a hell of thing to go from 8,900 criminal charges to zero with the snap of a finger. To go from the brink of having a career destroyed as soon at it's begun to "Let's move along, citizens" without a reason given just makes a bizarre situation all the more bizarrier. 

Why did they drop the charges? Was the state of Louisiana wrong about the whole thing? Apparently so, because it's not like they're saying they counted wrong and he didn't place nearly as many underage bets as they thought. They dropped all 8,900 like they were the beans in Kevin's famous chili:

So forgive me if I'm looking for more than just an email to Boutte's agent and the NFLPA. I need closure on this anecdote.

More importantly, this restores my previously shattered hopes that the Patriots can still get some value out of this distressed asset. That maybe with the right coaching and some patience, Boutte can be some semblance of what he was projected to be early in his LSU career. Before he got injured. Then returned to find Brian Kelly in charge. And himself as a stranger in a strange land. Moved inside as a slot receiver. In a system he wasn't familiar with, his production cut to a fraction of what it was, and his potential Round 1 status pushed back to the 187th pick overall. With all the draft capital Eliot Wolf spend on wide receiver in this past draft, Boutte will probably have to make a colossal, Hulk-like Year 2 jump to secure a roster spot. But for now, let's be glad he'll get the chance instead of just ending up as a the future subject of a sports documentary. 

Remember to gamble responsibly.