Chase Winovich wouldn’t reveal the motivation behind the new look he debuted Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, saying the reason for his bleached, platinum blonde hair was “a secret.”
A few days later, teammates Devin and Jason McCourty spilled the beans on their “Double Coverage” podcast.
Winovich’s dye job, the twin brothers said, wasn’t a rookie hazing maneuver, but rather a personal choice by the first-year New England Patriots linebacker.
Here’s a transcript of their conversation, which begins at the 38:00 mark of the video below:
Jason: “Chase decided to dye his hair. The guy’s already blonde, but I guess he wanted to be … blonder?”
Devin: “What is that blonde called? It’s, like, between blonde and gray, I guess.”
Jason: “It’s between Daenerys, Mother of Dragons (from ‘Game of Thrones’) and Elsa from ‘Frozen.’ ”
Devin: “(Fans ask), ‘Were you calling him Thor?’ The only names I heard were Elsa and Khaleesi. But Chase went out there and played good football, so –”
Jason: “He did, and this was all his doing. This wasn’t a rookie thing. He went home and decided to dye his hair, and it just did not turn out the way he was hoping.”
Devin: “But that is a rookie thing, because he tried something, and he didn’t have no idea what he was doing.”
Jason: “He also wore a hat for most of the day but eventually had to take it off. So, guys, go to Chase’s page, tell him how crazy you think his hair looks. Find a picture.”
Devin: “Or tell him how much you love his hair.”
Jason: “However you’re feeling, let him know.”
Devin: “Because us, we’re bald, so we’re jealous of his hair no matter what.”
Questionable style decisions aside, Winovich has been one of the Patriots’ most productive rookies this season, tallying 4 1/2 sacks, three tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits as a situational pass rusher.