Report: Pats pick up Wynn’s option
Team will reportedly decline fifth-year option on Michel
The Patriots picked up offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn’s fifthyear option Monday and will likely decline running back Sony Michel’s, according to reports.
Both players were first-round selections in the 2018 draft. Per league rules, NFL teams had until May 3 to pick up the fifth-year options built into the contracts of 2018 first-rounders.
Wynn was always more likely
to see his deal extended into 2022. The price of picking up Wynn’s option is $10.413 million guaranteed. At the current rate, he will be paid as a top-20 offensive tackle and one of the 40 highest-paid linemen in the NFL.
Wynn is a top-20 caliber tackle when healthy, though injuries marred the early part of his career.
The Georgia product missed his rookie year with a torn Achilles, then sat eight games with turf toe in 2019 and fell victim to a nasty knee injury last season, when he missed the final six games. Two of those injuries — the Achilles tear and knee twist — resulted from players rolling up on Wynn from behind while he was blocking. The Patriots seem to believe those incidents are unlikely to repeat, or his injury risk is worth incurring to extend him.
The Pats looked ready to pick up Wynn’s option during the draft, when they waited until the sixth round to add an offensive lineman. On the flip side, their selection of Oklahoma running back Rhamondre Stevenson in the fourth round foretold Michel’s contract likely ending after next season. Michel has also battled injuries.
Wynn is expected to start at left tackle again in the 2021 season, while Michel projects to be part of a backfield rotation with Stevenson, Damien Harris and James White.