The New England Patriots have acquired Jonathan Bostic through a trade with the Chicago Bears and will join the team pending a physical, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The Bears will reportedly receive a sixth round pick from the Patriots as part of the trade. The Bears seem to be cleaning house on defense, as they reportedly just sent pass rusher Jared Allen to the Carolina Panthers.
Bostic was a second round draft pick, but he hasn't seen any action this season, as he didn't fit in head coach John Fox's 3-4 defense. Bostic was also behind coming into the season as he was dealing with back injuries in the offseason.
"To be honest, it wasn't even a back injury (that kept me out during the offseason). It was more stuff from shin, hip; it just kind of went up in the back," said Bostic this past August, via ESPN.
The 6-foot-1, 245 pound linebacker was the Bears leading tackler last season, and is likely to show his talent in New England. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has a habit of turning good players into great players. He also finds the right position for players, and is likely to put Bostic in a position he can succeed.
The Patriots are undefeated through three weeks, but their defense is ranked 19th in the league in terms of yards given up per game. The Patriots have a bye week this weekend, but they face the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 11. With an extra week, it will be interesting to see how Belichick implements Bostic into the Patriots defense.
