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 before the NFL trade deadline on November 5th.

The Patriots are trading edge rusher Josh Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Monday. According to Rapoport, the Patriots will receive a 2026 sixth-round draft pick from the Chiefs as part of the deal.

“Strong fit in New England, where he was a proven pass rusher,” Phil Perry, Patriots insider for NBC Sports Boston, wrote on Twitter/X. “The last few seasons he’s been stiff. Now with a team where he should see an uptick in obvious passing situations.”

Uche was unable to play in the Patriots’ 25-22 win over the New York Jets on Sunday despite not being injured. Therefore, it is not surprising that he was replaced shortly afterwards.

The Patriots selected 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 recorded a career-high 11.5 sacks in 15 games. Uche recorded 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 for other veteran players eight days before the trade deadline.

Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated moved to NBC Sports Boston Patriots Pregame Live on Sunday and provided an update on the Patriots’ status before the deadline.

“They are open for business and listen to everything,” Breer said. “I think the ones you want to look at are players who may be on a second contract and are already further along in their careers and it’s a little hard to see that two or three years later these guys are important pieces of the puzzle will be when the program is there.” they would hope so.

“I think the two markets that have been really hot so far as far as the behind-the-scenes discussions between teams are wide receiver and edge rusher. Those are two areas where the Patriots actually have a surplus – I’m not saying that. “They have great players at those positions – but they have great numbers at those positions, so they could release a guy without at those positions to become dysfunctional.”

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 this potentially lead to a trade for a veteran wideout like Kendrick Bourne and/or KJ Osborn?

The Patriots are in the middle of a rebuild. So if they can get some veteran draft picks who may not be part of the team’s long-term future, these moves are worth considering.