Josh Uche out, Chase Winovich in.
The New England Patriots made a swap of linebackers Wednesday afternoon, placing Uche on injured reserve and activating Winovich off IR. The latter will be eligible to play Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons. The former must sit out at least the next three games.
Uche, who has not enjoyed the breakout sophomore season that many predicted, suffered an ankle injury during last Sunday’s 45-7 win over the Cleveland Browns. He’s the second Patriots linebacker to land on IR with an ankle injury in the last two weeks, joining veteran Jamie Collins.
Winovich returned to practice last week. He missed the last four games after suffering a hamstring injury in New England’s Week 6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The 2019 third-round draft pick has played in six games this season as a rotational pass rusher, tallying seven tackles, one quarterback hit and no sacks.
Winovich’s return comes at an opportune time for the Patriots, who would have lacked pass-rushing depth with Collins and Uche unavailable. New England has opted not to play rookie outside linebacker Ronnie Perkins thus far, keeping him out as a healthy scratch.
In a separate transaction Wednesday, the Patriots waived wide receiver Malcolm Perry from their IR list. Perry, a former Navy quarterback who garnered pre-draft attention from head coach Bill Belichick, was claimed off waivers from the Miami Dolphins early this season but never played a snap for New England.
The Patriots released their final injury report of Week 11, listing 13 players as questionable for Thursday night’s Falcons game. Running back Damien Harris and receiver/return man Gunner Olszewski enter Thursday’s game with no injury designation after clearing concussion protocol.
Kickoff Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set for 8:20 p.m. ET.
