The trade of Joshua Uche earlier this week came as somewhat of a surprise, with the club opting to move the former second round pick in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick after reaching a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Uche had been inconsistent for much of the season, with the club primarily using him as a situational pass-rusher, and his playing time had dropped off in recent weeks. He was a healthy scratch against the Jaguars in London in Week 7, and played in just 11 snaps against the Jets on Sunday and didn’t register a tackle.
Overall, Uche was in the middle of a disappointing year after re-signing on a 1-year deal this past offseason. Through eight weeks, he had just as many sacks (2) as he did penalties (2), with his last one coming back in Week 5 against Miami.
However, it sounds less like the move was about his lack of production and more that Uche may have been one of the guys who may have fallen under the “selfish” label regarding their play that was being thrown about by some of the veteran players in the locker room.
Albert Breer said on Arbella Early Edition on NBC Sports Boston Tuesday night that there was some frustration internally with Uche’s play in terms of him playing “outside the defense,” and that likely led to the club exploring moving on from him.
“[The Patriots] felt like he wasn’t taking the coaching, like he was playing outside the defense too much, like he wasn’t dependable,” said Breer. “And just a little bit like he wasn’t on board with where things were under Jerod Mayo.”
“And the way I look at it, this is a crucial time for them to have guys on board, especially when they are guys that you’ve actually rewarded and paid. So a guy like that — he’s not on board, you have a landing spot for him, you send him away.”
Patriots Pass Rush is Already Limited
Following the trade of Matthew Judon at the start of the season, the club hasn’t quite had the same success getting after the quarterback as we’ve seen in recent years. Couple that with the loss of Christian Barmore, who was diagnosed with a blood clot that has sidelined him to this point, and the Patriots are in a situation where moving on from an edge rusher like Uche is another blow to what’s already a limited group.
At the same time, Uche taking things into his own hands with his play is something that certainly couldn’t continue. Not when Mayo and defensive coordinator Demarcus Covington are working with what’s already young roster and a unit that all needs to on the same page.
The compensation for Uche also sounds questionable, but Breer also pointed out that there were no other offers for the veteran. That means that Uche could have potentially moved on this offseason, which would have left New England with nothing to show for it, barring a compensatory pick.
But with Drake Maye’s emergence on offense and the trajectory they’ve been progressing in since he took over under center, this team could certainly have a significantly different feel next spring than it did this past offseason. With a young QB in Maye who has been on the rise, attracting free agents will likely be much easier than it was for a team that had more money than hope to offer players back in March.
As a result, given the capital and cap space they’ll have to work with, it’s possible things will go better this offseason. Unlike how things played out this past spring, this time around, they’ll potentially have a better chance of signing more players than they’ll part with. With that in mind, had they just let him walk next offseason, the likelihood of receiving a compensatory pick would have been unlikely.
Instead, that 2026 sixth-round pick at least could become currency that Eliot Wolf could package together with another selection to use at some point if there’s a player on the board they’re targeting. Or that pick could potentially become the next Demario Douglas or Kayshon Boutte, both of which are recent sixth-round selections who have become important parts of this current roster.
In the end, it’s disappointing, but having guys freelancing on the defense certainly isn’t ideal. Many likely remember when former head coach Bill Belichick moved on from Jamie Collins, who had tremendous athleticism and was a playmaker on New England’s defense. But Collins’ situation sounded similar to what may have been going on with Uche, and Belichick’s decision ended up being the right move.
Perhaps that’s what Mayo was thinking in this case, as sometimes addition by subtraction can be a necessary decision to improve a team that has nowhere to go but up.
The Patriots currently sit at 2-6 start with nine games still left to play in this 2024 season, with a trip to Tennessee up next for New England on Sunday.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
