Report: Patriots trade Josh Uche to Chiefs for 2026 draft pick originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots have completed their first deal ahead of the November 5 NFL trade deadline.
They are trading edge rusher Josh Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Monday. Rapoport also reported that the Patriots will receive a sixth-round draft pick from the Chiefs in 2026 as part of the deal.
“He wasn’t a good fit in New England, where he was a designated pass rusher,” NBC Sports Boston Patriots insider Phil Perry wrote on rise in obvious passing situations.”
Uche was left out of the Patriots’ 25-22 win over the New York Jets on Sunday despite not having an injury, so it’s not surprising he was moved soon after.
The Patriots drafted Uche in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He recorded 20.5 sacks in 58 career games in New England. His best season came in 2022, when he posted a career-high 11.5 sacks through 15 games. Uche posted 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 joined NBC Sports Boston Patriots Pregame Live on Sunday and provided an update on the Patriots’ status ahead of the deadline.
“They are open for business and will listen to everything,” Breer said. “I think the ones you want to look at are players who maybe have a second contract and are deeper in their career, where it’s a little bit difficult to see those guys two or three years down the line being the most important pieces of the puzzle if the program is where they would hope it would be.
“I think the two markets that have been really hot so far, in terms of behind-the-scenes discussions between teams, are wide receiver and edge rusher. Those are two areas where the Patriots have surplus – I’m not saying they have great players at those positions, but they have numbers at those positions, so they can cut someone and not become non-functional at those spots.”
The Patriots have a number of wide receivers on their roster, including many young players at the position who need more snaps to develop. Could that possibly lead to a trade involving a veteran wideout like Kendrick Bourne and/or KJ Osborn?
The Patriots are in the midst of a rebuild, so if they can secure some draft picks for veterans who may not be part of the team’s long-term future, those moves are worth exploring.
