Former Patriots Pass Rusher Retires From NFL After Five Seasons

A 2019 Patriots draft pick called it a career Tuesday night.

Edge rusher Chase Winovich announced his retirement from the NFL on Instagram.

"It has been a wild 21 years playing football!!!" Winovich wrote. "The time has come for me to serve the universe in other ways.”

A third-round pick out of Michigan, Winovich spent his first three seasons with New England, tallying 5 1/2 sacks as a rookie in 2019 and another 5 1/2 in 2020. The blonde-haired pass rusher mostly was relegated to special teams duty in 2021, and the Patriots traded him to the Browns for linebacker Mack Wilson ahead of the '22 season.

After one season in Cleveland, Winovich signed with the Houston Texans this past spring, was released during final roster cuts and then joined the Dolphins. The 28-year-old played five snaps on defense and 47 on special teams over three appearances for Miami before being cut last week.

Winovich appeared in 56 career games over five seasons, totaling 107 tackles, 12 sacks and one interception.

"I consider myself beyond blessed and deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to play the game I love in front of so many and on some of the world's biggest stages," Winovich wrote.

Winovich also quoted Patriots special teams captain Mattew Slater in his retirement post.

"To quote my friend Matthew Slater," he wrote, "'We all owe football something,' and that I certainly did."

Winovich faced his former team twice this season -- once with Houston in the preseason and again with Miami in Week 2 -- and was in line to do so a third time before his release. The Patriots are set to visit the Dolphins this Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.