Steelers, Chase Winovich trade talks begin to surface once again

The Steelers have a need for an edge defender, and Chase Winovich seems like a perfect candidate. Here’s why a trade is being talked about again. 

There have been a number of potential trade scenarios thrown around for the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. However, one name that multiple media outlets believe would be a great fit for Pittsburgh is New England Patriots edge defender, Chase Winovich.

Winovich is a player the Steelers reportedly had an interest in prior to the 2019 NFL Draft. After he had the honorable dinner meeting with Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert, some even thought that he could be a surprise first-round draft choice by the Steelers. Instead, the organization elected to trade up for his Michigan teammate, Devin Bush.

Recently, talks surfaced once again that the Steelers would be the perfect trade partner for Chase Winovich – this time from Chris Roling of Bleacher Report. Here’s what he had to say about Pittsburgh’s ideal trade scenario:

"Another team that lost some big pass-rushing help this offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers could still make some of that back with some savvy maneuvering on the trade market this summer. As expected, the Steelers lost franchise player Bud Dupree on the open market. While his season was cut short by injury, he still had eight sacks over 11 games and continued to be a core piece of the defensive puzzle. Looking across the AFC to a team like New England might be able to help fill that void a bit. Chase Winovich played just 58 percent of the Patriots’ defensive snaps last year but had 5.5 sacks for the second season in a row. After a roster reset, the Patriots might be willing to let a versatile piece like that go for the right price. It’s the type of low-cost move the Steelers are capable of making into a big win on the field given the unit Winovich would join."

Why Winovich and Steelers really do make sense together

Roling makes some valid points, and I happen to agree. In fact, I’ve written about this exact topic in the past. For more reasons than you might realize, Pittsburgh is a perfect trade partner for Chase Winovich.

Let’s start from New England’s point of view. The Patriots recently broke the bank for a pair of pass rushers in free agency this year. Between Matt Judon and Kyle Van Noy, New England is spending roughly $20 million per year, according to Over the Cap. In addition, the organization spent the 60th overall pick in 2020 on hybrid pass rusher Josh Uche as well as the 87th pick on linebacker Anfernee Jennings. The fact that 3 of these 4 players mentioned are signed through at least the 2023 season, Winovich is a backup player in a timeshare at best.

For the Steelers, a trade for Chase Winovich might make even more sense. Despite losing both Bud Dupree and Ola Adeniyi in free agency this year, the team did very little in the way of replacing him, and they didn’t address the edge defender position until the 6th round in the 2021 NFL Draft.

T.J. Watt is a superstar, but there are some questions outside of him. I fully expect Alex Highsmith to be a solid football player, and he could take a year-two leap in 2021. However, that leaves Pittsburgh with just two capable players at the position. The depth then gets scary with journeyman, Cassius Marsh as the next potential rotational option, while rookie Quincy Roche may fight for some snaps.

Bringing in Winovich certainly doesn’t mean that Highsmith would be losing his job, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he would be a monumental improvement over the depth the team currently has. With so much of Pittsburgh’s defense tied to getting quick pressure on the quarterback, they must find more depth at the position in the event of an injury to Highsmith or Watt.

There have been some mild concerns about Winovich’s character, and some say that he has an abrasive personality. Despite being a very productive pass rusher at Michigan and one of the oldest players on his team by his senior season, Winovich was never voted team captain in college, and some say he rubs people the wrong way. Still, if he can be had for a fourth-round pick with two years still remaining on his rookie deal, this is a no-brainer.

Chase Winovich probably wouldn’t develop into a star for the Steelers, but he could be the perfect number three edge rusher who could spell snaps from both Watt and Highsmith. There’s a reason why this ideal trade scenario keeps coming back up; It just makes too much sense for both sides to let it go.