Kansas City Chiefs Trade for New England Patriots Pass Rusher Josh Uche

The defending champs get reinforcements on the defensive line.

Uche goes from the bottom of the AFC East to a contender / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

On Monday, the defending Super Bowl champions got some reinforcements on the defensive side of the ball.

The Kansas City Chiefs have acquired pass rusher Josh Uche from the New England Patriots, per multiple reports. It's the second trade the Chiefs have made in the last week; Uche will join DeAndre Hopkins as the new acquisitions. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report the Patriots get a 2026 sixth-round pick in exchange for Uche.

Uche, 26, was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft and has shown flashes of intruiging potential over his first few years in the league. Consistency has been an issue for the Michigan product but his speed rush is incredibly dangerous when Uche is locked in, as evidenced by the 11.5 sacks he recorded during the 2022 campaign.

However, Uche has struggled to come close to those heights otherwise. He managed only three sacks in 2023 and has recorded two so far in 2024. Under both Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo, Uche hasn't been trusted as an every-down player. He's never played more than 38% of all defensive snaps in any season. This year Uche has only been on the field for 35% of snaps for a defense that really needed him to show out after the front office traded Matthew Judon before the regular season. He was a healthy scratch in the team's win over the New York Jets on Sunday.

Uche is only on a one-year deal worth $3 million this season, so he represents an interesting buy-low acquisition for the Chiefs. A situational pass rusher can be very useful for a team often playing with a lead and all it takes is one good rep at the right time for this transaction to be considered a resounding success. And given that the Chiefs gave up very little for his talents, it's a buy-low opportunity in every sense of the word.

Uche could make his debut for his new team when the Chiefs take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football next week.

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