Josh Uche trade: New England Patriots reportedly send OLB to Kansas City Chiefs

NFL insider Ian Rapoport reports Monday that the New England Patriots are trading pass-rusher Joshua Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs ahead of the November 5 trade deadline.

Uche will be joining the undefeated, defending back-to-back Super Bowl champions in the midst of his fifth NFL season. The defender spent his whole career with the Patriots up to this point after New England selected him in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the No. 60 overall pick out of Michigan.

Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald reported that New England will receive a 2026 sixth-round draft pick in exchange for Uche from the Chiefs. Uche was a healthy scratch from the Patriots’ most recent game on Sunday against the New York Jets after being involved in trade talks.

In his first two seasons with New England, Uche appeared in 21 games with one start where he recorded 21 tackles, five tackles for loss, 11 QB hits, four sacks, and a fumble recovery. But 2022 was his breakout season, posting a career-high 11.5 sacks, 14 QB hits, nine tackles for loss, and 27 total tackles. Ranking top 10 in sacks for the season across the NFL despite not starting in one game for the Patriots.

The pass rush specialist saw his production take a hit in his last two seasons in New England, with just five sacks in his last 22 games. Still ranking fifth in the NFL since 2022 in pressure rate according to PFF as he’s struggled to carve out a role in the Patriots’ defense at times.

Uche notably signed a team-friendly one-year, $3 million contract with New England this offseason as a free agent and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. But he now joins one of the top defenses across the NFL and a contender that also acquired wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins via trade last week.