Isaiah Wynn Free Agent Fits: Rams, Bears, Buccaneers

Isaiah Wynn is one of the more intriguing free agents this offseason, as he has played left tackle for the Patriots and has produced decent seasons. 

However, Wynn is coming off a disappointing season and other teams may not view him as a true left tackle. 

With that being said, he’s still just 27 years old and offers both position versatility and upside, which is something a number of teams could use. 

Wynn, 27, is a former first-round pick of the Patriots out of Georgia back in 2018. He played out his four-year, $11,577,192 contract that included a $6,499,776 signing bonus.

The Patriots picked up the fifth-year option on Wynn’s deal that paid him a salary of $10.413 million for the 2022 season. He’s testing the free agent market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. 

In 2022, Wynn appeared in nine games for the Patriots and made seven starts at right tackle.

We have him included in our Top 100 Available 2023 NFL Free Agents list.

Los Angeles Rams

In addition to not having much of a free agent budget to begin with this offseason, the Rams will zealously protect any potential compensatory picks they could earn from their free agents signing with other teams. The salary cutoff is around $2.7 million to qualify in the comp formula, per Nick Korte of Over The Cap who’s the foremost public expert on this subject. So unless the Rams are getting a player for less than that, expect them to sit out free agency until the period for qualifying compensatory free agents ends on May 1. 

If Wynn is still available in May, he’d make a lot of sense for the Rams. Injuries along the offensive line were a major faultline for the 2022 Rams as their season fell apart. It’s an area where they need to improve to get back to being a potent offense. The catch is the whole league is always looking for quality offensive linemen. Given the Rams’ financial constraints and their lack of a first-round pick, they’ll have to be creative. 

That’s where signing Wynn could be a huge steal. The former first-round pick of the Patriots back in 2018 has struggled to stay healthy and New England’s decision to switch him to the right side turned into a disaster. However, when Wynn was able to stay on the field in 2020 and 2021, he looked like a potential plus starter. PFF graded him as the No. 11 and No. 30 tackle those two seasons, out of about 80 players who played enough snaps to qualify.

Wynn is listed at just 6-2 and 310, which is far shorter and smaller than most tackles. A lot of people expected him to move to guard in the pros. But he’s stuck at tackle thanks to his athleticism and technique, and in the Rams’ wide zone blocking scheme, his mobility would be enhanced even more. 

Wynn probably wants a one-year deal to try and rehab his value and cash in as a free agent in 2024. Not a lot of teams need left tackles this year either, which also works in the Rams’ favor. Signing Wynn would be a low-risk and potentially high-reward move — exactly what the Rams should be trying to do this offseason as they hit the reset button. 

Chicago Bears

As far as other fits, the Bears have a young left tackle they like in 2022 fifth-rounder Braxton Jones. It would be a bit of a gamble to not bring in any competition for him, however. Wynn might be an option that won’t cost a ton. He fits the wide zone scheme Chicago runs and he might see an opportunity to win a job on the depth chart. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Another potential fit is the Buccaneers, who currently have the most glaring opening at left tackle in the whole league, assuming they don’t flip RT Tristan Wirfs over to the blind side. This might be Wynn’s best bet at getting a starting job, and he’d also be a scheme fit if new OC Dave Canales runs an offense similar to what the Seahawks did in 2022. Seattle is among the many teams that have roots in the Shanahan/McVay coaching tree.