{"id":15884,"date":"2017-03-11T10:17:44","date_gmt":"2017-03-11T15:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=15884"},"modified":"2017-03-11T10:17:44","modified_gmt":"2017-03-11T15:17:44","slug":"patriots-trade-kony-ealy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2017\/03\/11\/patriots-trade-kony-ealy\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots Trade For Kony Ealy"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the second time in a matter of days, the New England Patriots have bolstered their roster with a significant trade. After acquiring Dwayne Allen<\/a><\/strong> from the Indianapolis Colts earlier in the week, the Pats acquired defensive end Kony Ealy<\/a><\/strong> from the Carolina Panthers on Friday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter<\/a>. As part of the deal, the Pats dealt their second-round pick in this spring’s draft (#64 overall) for a Panthers third-round selection (#72 overall).<\/p>\n

New England Patriots Trade For Kony Ealy<\/h2>\n

The 25-year-old Ealy recorded five sacks for the Panthers in 2016, matching his career high. All told, the former Missouri Tiger has registered fourteen sacks in his three-year career. Ealy has proven to be a durable, well-rounded defender in his time in Carolina. He suited up for 47 of a possible 48 regular season games with the Panthers. In addition to his work getting after the opposing quarterback, Ealy has forced six fumbles, recovered two others, and even intercepted a pass.<\/p>\n

The 6’4,” 275-pound Ealy figures to start opposite Trey Flowers<\/a><\/strong> at defensive end for New England, giving the Pats some formidable size at the position. The acquisition of Ealy provides a needed youthful reinforcement to the team’s pass rush, helping to account for a couple of departures.\u00a0Chris Long<\/a><\/strong> has already stated that he will not be returning to the team in 2017 and\u00a0Jabaal Sheard<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0jettisoned the Pats, signing with the Colts on Friday. Additionally, longtime defensive end Rob Ninkovich<\/a><\/strong> is coming off an underwhelming season as a 32-year-old, and is ticketed for part-time duty, at best, in 2017.<\/p>\n

Ealy has one year remaining on his rookie contract. The former second-round draft pick will account for just under $904,000 of cap space this season. If Ealy continues to demonstrate an ability to disrupt opposing offenses in a variety of ways, he will be a tremendous value added for the reigning Super Bowl champions.<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n