NFL Insider Identifies This Patriots Defender As Possible Trade Candidate

Does Chase Winovich have a future with the Patriots?

A third-round pick of New England in 2019, Winovich impressed during his rookie season and was even better early in his sophomore campaign. But the Michigan product saw his playing time decrease down the stretch — ultimately playing in just 58% of defensive snaps — before seeing just 14% of the snaps over 13 games this season. Winovich, still a skilled pass-rusher with 11 career sacks, was a healthy scratch in the wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills.

So, it’s hard to envision Winovich having much of a future with the Patriots. In fact, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler believes the 26-year-old could be traded this offseason.

Here’s an excerpt from Fowler’s column published Monday:

Winovich was buried on the depth chart in Year (3), failing to crack 22 defensive snaps in any game and recording DNPs in December games. He gets knocked for his run defense but can be a situational pass-rusher somewhere. Perhaps new Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler — the Patriots’ de facto GM last year — will look into Winovich in exchange for a late-round pick. It’s possible Las Vegas switches from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defensive formation.

Winovich is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Thus, it would behoove the Patriots to maximize his value if they know he again will have a limited role in 2022.

That said, the possibility of Winovich making the necessary improvements to his game this summer and winning over New England’s coaching staff can’t be eliminated.