Patriots Linebacker Mouth Might Shorten His Stay in New England

The New England Patriots have a big problem to deal with right now. According to recent reports, one Patriots linebacker has problems with his mouth. Moreover, this may affect his future with the team.

New England didn’t see much pass rush in 2020. Second-year edge rusher Chase Winovich provided most of the pass rush for the team. Wino had 5.5 sacks in 2020 and led the team in this category.

But, Winovich may be having issues with his teammates and the coaching staff. Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal shared notes from Patriots coaches detailing Wino’s greatness and his issues. Yes, he is definitely having issues with his mouth.

The Patriots linebacker better watch his mouth

Winovich enters the field with amazing energy and passion. NFL coaches love that. But, Patriots coaches may see Wino as a player who isn’t coachable. That’s when things go bad. Is this the case of Winovich and his coaches?

“Had a monster game against the Jets, which we also saw earlier in the season. In between? Just a sub-rusher role. Why? Because he can’t be counted on a down-to-down basis to Do His Job on the edge, and I’m not sure the team will ever trust him to do that — he’s almost certain to have competition at the position next year. There’s also the issue of his mouth, which is a concern internally because he rarely thinks he’s wrong and is a bit of a locker room lawyer (sounds like someone around here who writes about football). I’ve floated moving him to (inside linebacker) but that has been shot down because if of the lack of faith he will consistently do the correct things within the scheme.”

Winovich has had great words for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. However, he also showed discomfort with the shortened playing time.

NFL experts agree that Winovich is expendable. Winovich has the talent to bring better sack numbers than he did in 2020. Patriots linebackers have multiple roles and Winovich struggles to do it all.

New England may not be the best fit for Winovich. If head coach Belichick has determined that’s the case, he will probably ship the linebacker somewhere else.