The Patriots are reportedly open to trading OT Isaiah Wynn, who has been moved from left tackle to right tackle this year after lining up exclusively on the blindside over his first few seasons in the NFL (aside from a 2020 cameo at LG and some training camp work at RT as a rookie). As expected, however, outside interest in the former first-rounder is limited at this point, as Jeff Howe of The Athletic tweets.
Although Wynn did play in 16 regular season contests in 2021, he comes with an extensive injury history. He is also tethered to a $10.4MM salary for 2022 since New England exercised the fifth-year option on his rookie deal, and at least some teams consider him a tackle-guard “tweener.” All of that suggests that the Pats — who must also consider the injury history of LT Trent Brown and the underwhelming training camp performances of backups Justin Herron and Yodny Cajuste — may not fetch a high enough return to pull the trigger.
Now for more out of Foxborough:
- Per Mike Giardi of the NFL Network, Brown was not told he would be lining up at left tackle when he re-signed with the Patriots this offseason (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has taken all of his snaps on the right side of the line since 2019, and one wonders if he would have signed the contract, which pays him $6.5MM per year over the next two years, if he had known he would be playing a premium position. Giardi also tweets that Wynn — perhaps as a result of a position switch in his platform year — is not a “happy camper,” so there is plenty of intrigue surrounding the team’s OL bookends in 2022.
- As Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, Patriots running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris will be part of a timeshare this year, but as opposed to 2021, they are more likely to remain on the field on third downs. In light of James White‘s retirement, New England is unlikely to have a defined “passing down back,” and that is especially true in the wake of the ankle injury that Ty Montgomery suffered during the team’s preseason finale on Friday. Reiss notes in a separate piece that Montgomery seemed like a roster lock as a third option behind Stevenson and Harris, and the Pats are still awaiting word on the severity of his injury.
- On Monday, rookie receiver Tyquan Thornton underwent surgery to repair his fractured clavicle, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. It was previously reported that Thornton is expected to return to the field sometime in October, and the six-to-eight-week recovery timeline that Fowler provides jibes with that report.
- The injury that landed rookie OL Andrew Stueber on the reserve/NFI list is a torn hamstring, as Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reports (via Twitter). Stueber sustained the injury while training after the draft, and it could sideline him for his entire rookie season.
Will Bill retire after 6/11 this year?
they probably finish 9-8. Not sure why people are so down on Bill.
I feel that Bill is ok being the lightning rod as there is no star power on this team. Few people like his process, but he’s doing an admirable job. They aren’t going to be great, but they certainly won’t be horrible either. 9-8 or 10-7 is absolutely right
I would like to believe that, but it appears that Belichick is doing a lot of evaluative measures this year as opposed to win now type moves. The coordinator debacle is the most obvious, and the offensive line shuffling appears to possibly be the same. It’s odd because he signed so many high priced free agents, but the sheer number also makes me think that he possibly is just trying them out to see who he would like to extend long term. It’s almost as if he’s using the regular season as a try-out. I’m not saying that I necessarily believe this is the case, but the possibility has broached my mind given the moves made.
Perhaps he is anticipating a sophomore slump from Jones and wants to get his ducks in a row for Year Three. Or maybe he is trying to win and is just making weird moves to try and do so. In any case, the Patriots seem to be in a state of flux right now. It’s hard to see what the end game is, if there is one, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens. Belichick is not infallible, but he’s bought enough credit for me not to underestimate him. These aren’t questions that will be answered off the field.
Pats aren’t winning the SB this year, so whatever Bill needs to do to get the Pats back into SB contention sounds good to me.
Exactly right. People don’t like his process but the Patriots continue to win. They aren’t flashy but they are a tough team. They remind me more of Patriot teams in the early 2000s. Ground and Pound and solid defense
Nice troll post, stabby. Look at all the responses.