The New England Patriots could be looking to part ways with former first-round draft pick Isaiah Wynn, per a report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
According to Breer, the Patriots are “probably going to trade someone,” and when delving into who that someone could potentially be, he touched on the team being engaged in trade conversations involving the offensive tackle.
Breer wrote:
“New England’s really tight to the cap, and my sense is they’d like to use a surplus they might have at one position or another to alleviate that and maybe pick up a draft pick or two. The one guy I know definitively that they’ve talked with other teams on is Isaiah Wynn, their first-round pick from 2018. Wynn, though, is on a $10.4 million fifth-year option, which has made it tough to move a guy who, four years after he was drafted, is still seen as a tackle/guard tweener.”
Wynn was taken with the No. 23 overall pick of the 2018 NFL draft.
Injuries have been a constant issue for the 26-year-old offensive lineman. In the last four seasons combined, he has only appeared in 34 games.
The team hasn’t been able to rely on him to stay on the field consistently. There also hasn’t been the desired uptick in improvement to push them to facilitate a long-term extension, when they could potentially move him for cap relief and draft picks. It obviously won’t be easy considering he’s in the final year of a $10.4 million fifth-year option, as Breer pointed out.
The Patriots have obviously leaned on fourth-year tackle Yodny Cajuste to handle the right side duties, while Trent Brown handles things on the left side.
So the replacement plan is already in place. This could also simply be a case of the Patriots trying to get something over nothing for a player that no longer looms as a roster priority.
