Why Patriots Legend Dante Scarnecchia Still Believes In Isaiah Wynn

Many Patriots fans have long since given up on Isaiah Wynn.

Dante Scarnecchia? He still has high hopes for the embattled right tackle.

The legendary New England offensive line coach, who retired after the 2020 season, was a guest Wednesday on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” At one point during the interview, Scarnecchia was asked whether Wynn is capable of getting his career back on track.

“I absolutely think he is,” Scarnecchia said. “He’s in the Twilight Zone right now. I heard he was a healthy scratch, whatever that means. I like the kid personally. I had as big a say in him coming here as anyone did because I like really the person. And I still like the person. I haven’t changed my mind on that. I wish nothing but the best for him.

“It doesn’t look like the way things are going, it’s going to go very well for him here. Wherever he ends up, whatever happens, I hope it’s in his best interest and he gets the most out of his career.”

Wynn, a first-round pick in 2018, played left tackle for the first four years of his career and was solid-to-above average when healthy. But he switched to right tackle during the offseason and the results haven’t been good.

The 26-year-old leads the NFL with eight total penalties — Trent Brown is tied for second with seven — despite not playing for the Patriots in Monday night’s loss to the Chicago Bears. According to Pro Football Focus, Wynn has given up three sacks and 13 quarterback pressures, though you could argue those numbers should be higher. It’s unclear whether Wynn, who’s been benched twice this season, was a healthy scratch against Chicago or kept out due to an injury (he was questionable with a shoulder issue). Wynn was on the field Wednesday for New England’s first practice ahead of Sunday’s road game against the New York Jets.

Regardless, Wynn will be a player to keep an eye on as next Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline approaches.