On Wednesday, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport posted to X.com that Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux was given permission by the team to seek a trade.
Rapoport wrote, “There has been contact with interested teams, and the veteran is likely on the move given the team’s defensive scheme shift.”
For much of last summer and into training camp, the conversation around Godchaux was about his desire for a contract extension. From holding impromptu press conferences about his displeasure with the situation to having on-field conferences with his agent and then-head coach Jerod Mayo, the veteran defensive tackle became a downright distraction for a team attempting to transition to a new coaching regime for the first time in over two decades.
Eventually, Godchaux got his wish, signing a two-year extension worth $21 million, including $16.5 million in guaranteed money.
But unfortunately for New England, those guaranteed dollars did not translate into guaranteed wins, as the Patriots’ front seven was among the worst in football on their way to a 4-13 season in 2024.
Those struggles, along with the aforementioned shift in defensive scheme coming under new head coach Mike Vrabel, it only makes sense that the highly-paid 30-year-old be given the right to seek employment elsewhere for the 2025 season.
This news comes down less than two hours after executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf met with the media ahead of the NFL Draft Combine, where he made a point to say this year’s draft class was “really deep on the defensive line.”
With the front seven already a priority heading into draft season, this news on Godchaux could be further evidence that the team is zeroing-in on top defensive tackle prospect Mason Graham out of Michigan as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest as this story develops.