Will Isaiah Wynn be on the New England Patriots after the Nov. 1 NFL trade deadline?
The 2018 first-round pick has had a rocky fifth season in New England that hit a new low Monday night when he was ruled inactive for the Patriots' Week 7 matchup with the Chicago Bears. When he has played, he's struggled mightily, posting a shockingly bad pass-blocking grade of 5 out of 100 (per Pro Football Focus) against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6 and racking up seven penalties over six games.
So, should the Patriots cut their losses and try to trade Wynn, or can he still turn things around in New England? Former Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who worked with Wynn for two seasons, is a good person to ask.
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“I absolutely think he is (savable)," Scarnecchia told WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Wednesday morning. "He's in the Twilight Zone right now. I heard he was a healthy scratch (Monday night), 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.
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"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."
"The Twilight Zone" is a good way to describe Wynn's situation. The team shifted him from left tackle to right tackle this offseason to accommodate Trent Brown, and he appears far from comfortable in his current spot. As former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson noted earlier this month, Wynn doesn't exactly look enthusiastic on the field, either.
"'I'm a body language guy, and his body language all training camp, preseason and the first few games, it didn't look like there was a lot of buy-in from Isaiah Wynn," Johnson said on Oct. 2.
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Scarnecchia seems to agree that there's a disconnect between Wynn and the Patriots, so maybe a trade is what's best for both parties. On NBC Sports Boston's Early Edition Tuesday night, co-hosts Tom Giles, Phil Perry and Andy Hart all agreed that Wynn is the most likely trade candidate in New England. (Check out the video above to hear their explanations.)
Whether the Patriots actually trade Wynn -- who's making $10.4 million on the final year of his rookie contract -- may depend on what they can get for him on the trade market. And if they can't get a deal done, the team will have to figure out how to get more out of 25-year-old lineman than it has to date.