Jabaal Sheard primed to seize expanded role with Patriots after Chandler Jones trade

9:09 AM ET

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — One of the reasons the New England Patriots felt comfortable trading Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals in March is the player who now projects to fill the majority of his role: defensive end Jabaal Sheard.

In 2015, Sheard was No. 3 on the depth chart, playing 51 percent of the defensive snaps. That number should rise this season and the 27-year-old seems ready to embrace the challenge.

“It’s football. There’s change. You never know what’s going to happen,” he said Wednesday during a break at a Fuel Up To Play 60 event. ”You just have to embrace it and go out there and deal with it.”

Jabaal Sheard tallied eight sacks in his first season with the Patriots. AP Photo/Steven Senne

In that sense, it could be a return to Sheard’s NFL roots when considering his defensive snap-count totals over his career, with the Cleveland Browns (2011-2014) and …

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