Joshua

Uche

Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz was first. It was reported last week by The Athletic’s Chad Graff that Uche and Jonathan Jones could “likely be had for a Day 3 draft pick.” With Uche now coming to the Chiefs for a late Day 3 pick, it will be interesting to see if Jones’ days as a Patriot are also numbered. Uche was a second-round pick of the Patriots back in 2020 and has totaled 20.5 sacks in his 58 career games. He also posted an 11.5 sack season in 2022. The veteran pass rusher will now join a Chiefs defense that’s currently ranked fifth in points allowed per game (17.6), but is just 24th in total sacks (15). Uche will make for a great addition in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme and could play as early as Week 9 against the Buccaneers.

Uche, 26, has just five sacks since what looked to be a breakout 2023 season where he had 11.5. He’s played just 35 percent of the snaps for New England this year. Jones, 31, would likely be more coveted by a team trying to patch up their secondary. Jones has started 37 games for the Patriots in the last three years.

Peppers popped up on the injury report late in the week, but will suit up against the Bengals in Week 1. All four of the Patriots listed as questionable will be active including Peppers, RB Antonio Gibson, OT Vederian Lowe and LB Josh Uche.

Uche has totaled 18.5 sacks for the Patriots through four seasons and topped out at 11.5 sacks in 2022. The former second-round pick is one of several Patriots from the 2023 campaign to re-up with the team early in the offseason, and they look to rebound from last year’s four-win debacle. For his career, Uche has played almost exclusively as a pass rusher. We’d expect him to return to a similar role next season.

Uche missed last week’s game against the Bills, so it’s good to see that he was able to get in at least a limited practice to start this week. Uche is second on the team in sacks and played 50 percent of the team’s snaps after Matthew Judon’s injury before suffering an injury of his own. Elsewhere on the defensive line, EDGE Keion White (concussion) did not practice while DL Davon Godchaux (ankle), DL Deatrich Wise Jr. (shoulder), and DT Christian Barmore (knee) were all limited.

Even though Uche is not practicing on Wednesday, reports are that he seemed to have dodged a serious injury in Week 6. With Matthew Judon out, Uche saw his snap share increase from 26 percent to 50 percent. He’s second on the team in sacks, albeit with just two, but the Patriots would love to see him on the field against Buffalo. CB Jonathan Jones (ankle) and OLB Keion White (concussion) also missed practice on Wednesday.

It’s really bad news, as the No. 60 overall pick of the draft missed Weeks 3-7 with a foot issue. Hopefully it is not a serious aggravation. Uche was making some big plays in the second half of the season as he averaged roughly 25-40 snaps.

Uche was a healthy scratch on Week 1 and has been on I.R. ever since. The second-round pick could offer a spark to the Patriots’ defense ahead of their clash with Josh Allen thanks to his athleticism and pass rushing potential.

A healthy scratch in Week 1, Uche missed Week 2 with an ankle ailment. He then injured his foot in practice this week. That all adds up to a rookie season that is suddenly in danger of being lost.

He joins Ravens fifth-round DT Broderick Washington as the only rookies to put pen to paper since the draft. Uche (6’1"/245) only logged 10 percent of the Wolverines’ snaps in his first three years before compiling 11.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks on 53 percent of the team’s snaps as a redshirt senior. That lack of playing time can easily be attributed to a torn meniscus and stress fracture in his first two seasons, but the fact of the matter is Uche only played 667 career snaps across nine starts at the collegiate level. He did buoy his high-end athleticism into a 2020 class-high 23 percent pressure rate (via Pro Football Focus) in his final year at Michigan, proving he can be a highly-productive edge rusher in the league even if he plays exclusively in sub-packages. He could make a living as Bruce Irvin-light if developed properly.