Chase Winovich

Chase Winovich (/ˈwɪnoʊvɪtʃ/) (born April 19, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). As a junior, he was a 2017 first team (media) and second team (coaches) All-Big Ten selection. As a senior, he was first team All-Big Ten (both coaches and media) and received several second team All-American recognition. He played outside linebacker and tight end at Michigan before switching to defensive end as a junior. He was drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Winovich played linebacker and quarterback at Thomas Jefferson High School in Pennsylvania, where he committed to Michigan over offers from Arizona, Arkansas, Florida State, Michigan State, Missouri, Northwestern, Ohio State, Pitt, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. At times he also played safety and return specialist. Despite being a lifelong Ohio State fan and having an offer from Ohio State, he committed to Michigan due to his connection to Michigan head coach Brady Hoke. Winovich's brother-in-law was also a huge Michigan fan. On National Signing Day, February 5, 2014, Winovich was the first to submit his National Letter of Intent paperwork, which was officially processed at 7:03 a.m., to Michigan.

2014–2016 seasons

Winovich began his Michigan career as a freshman linebacker, switched to tight end as a sophomore (for new coach Jim Harbaugh) before settling at defensive end in 2016. He wore number 59 as a linebacker and 44 as a tight end (he also practiced at fullback). He did not appear in any games for the 2014 Michigan Wolverines, appeared in 6 for the 2015 Wolverines and appeared in 13, starting 2 at defensive end for the 2016 Wolverines.

2017 season

In the spring and summer of 2017, Winovich took ballet lessons in order to improve his ability to shift his weight and control his body. He also studied Ju-jitsu in the summer to improve his agility. On September 23, 2017, Winovich had 4 tackles for a loss, including 3 quarterback sacks against 2017 Purdue Boilermakers football team, earning Co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. The performance also earned him recognition as the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week (Michigan's 7th such honoree since 2014 and 3rd on defense). During the 2017 season, Winovich set a career high in tackles with 74. Winovich's 17.0 tackles for loss leads Michigan and the Big Ten and ranks tied for 11th in a single season in program history, while his 8.0 sacks are tied for most in the league. Following his redshirt junior season, Winovich earned 2017 All-Big Ten team recognition from the media (first team) and coaches (second team). On January 3, 2018 it was announced that Winovich would return for a fifth year at Michigan.

2018 season

On October 1, 2018, Winovich earned his second Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week recognition after recording 8 solo tackles and a sack to help Michigan overcome a 17-point deficit against Northwestern. Winovich referred to the Wolverines' 62-39 loss to Ohio State as "a mirage." During the 2018 season, Winovich recorded 62 tackles to rank third among Wolverines and first among defensive linemen, and 14.5 tackles for loss to lead the team. Winovich went 0-4 against Ohio State during his career. Following the season, he was named to the 2018 All-Big Ten defensive first-team by both the coaches and media. Winovich earned 2018 College Football All-America Team second team recognition by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, American Football Coaches Association and College Football News. He earned third team recognition from the Associated Press.

College statistics

2019

Winovich was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round (77th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft. In June 2019 he signed a four-year deal worth $3.83 million, with a signing bonus of $997,312.

In Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins, Winovich recorded 1.5 sacks as the Patriots won 43–0. For his efforts in that game, he was named Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week. In Week 5 against the Washington Redskins, Winovich sacked Colt McCoy once in the 33–7 win. The following week against the New York Giants, he recovered and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, the first of his career.

2020

In Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Winovich recorded his first full sack of the season, a strip sack on Derek Carr which was recovered by the Patriots, during the 36–20 win. Against the Kansas City Chiefs, he recorded another sack, although a number of analysts cited a blown call from the referees negating a turnover. Winovich recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Justin Herbert in a Week 13 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers during the Patriots’ 45-0 shutout. On Sunday 20th December, against the Miami Dolphins, Winovich didn't record a single stat in the 12-22 loss.In Week 17 against the New York Jets, Winovich recorded a team high two sacks on Sam Darnold during the 28–14 win.

2021

On October 19, 2021, Winovich was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on November 17.

NFL statistics

Winovich's grandparents moved from Serbia to the United States and changed their last name, Vujinovic (“wolf-like” [Serbian Cyrilic: Вујиновић]) to Winovich. Winovich spends his offseasons in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Philanthropic work

Winovich works with Tammi Carr and The ChadTough Foundation to raise awareness of and money for research on diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an inoperable malignant tumor of the brainstem. (Carr's son, Chad, the grandson of former Michigan head football coach Lloyd Carr, died of DIPG in November 2015 at age 5.)

Since teaming up with The ChadTough Foundation prior to the 2017 Michigan football season, Winovich has worked to increase awareness about DIPG. In December 2017, Winovich and several of his teammates and coaches dyed their hair orange for the 2018 Outback Bowl in order to raise over $200,000 for the ChadTough Foundation. He has also participated in Dancing with the Michigan Stars, which raised over $143,000.