Report: Patriots trade Josh Uche to Chiefs for 2026 draft pick originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots made their first deal before the Nov. 5 NFL trade deadline.
The patriots are Trade Advantage Broker Josh Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Monday. The Patriots will get a 2026 sixth-round pick from the Chiefs as part of the deal. by Rapoport.
“It was difficult to fit in in New England, where he was a designated pass rusher,” said NBC Sports Boston Patriots insider Phil Perry. wrote on Twitter/X. “He held his own the last couple of seasons. Now with a team where he should see an uptick in obvious passing situations.”
Uche was held outside the Patriots victory 25-22 over the New York Jets on Sunday despite not having any injuries, so it is not surprising that he was transferred soon after.
The Patriots selected Uche in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He had 20.5 sacks in 58 career games in New England. His best season came in 2022, when he tallied a career-high 11.5 sacks in 15 games. Uche recorded 13 tackles and two sacks in seven games for the Patriots this season.
It will be interesting to see if the Patriots can find deals involving other veteran players with eight days left before the trade deadline.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer Joins NBC Sports Boston Patriots pregame live on Sunday and gave an update on The state of the Patriots before the deadline..
“They’re open to doing business and will listen to anything,” Breer said. “I think the ones you want to look at are players who might be on second contracts and in later stages of their careers, where it’s a little difficult to see those guys being important pieces of the puzzle two or three years later, when the program is where They would expect it to be so.
“I think the two markets that have really been hot up to this point, as far as behind-the-scenes discussions between teams, are wide receivers and edge rushers. Those are two areas where the Patriots have a surplus, I’m not saying They have great players at those positions, but they have numbers at those positions, so they could get rid of a player and not become non-functional at those positions.
The Patriots have a ton of wide receivers on their roster, including many young players at the position who need more snaps to develop. Could that potentially lead to a trade involving a veteran catcher like Kendrick Bourne and/or KJ Osborn?
The Patriots are in the midst of a rebuild, so if they can acquire some draft picks for veterans who might not be part of the team’s long-term future, those moves are worth exploring.