Patriots Analysis
Patriots 90-Man Roster Spotlight: Joshua Uche
The New England Patriots can have up to 90 players under contract during the offseason. Patriots Football Now will profile all 90 players over the upcoming weeks. Today’s featured player is Joshua Uche.
Joshua Uche
The New England Patriots selected Uche in the second round (No. 60 overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. He played collegiately for the Michigan Wolverines. Among many future NFL teammates at Michigan was offensive lineman Mike Onwenu, also drafted by New England in 2020. Uche also played with New England safety Jabrill Peppers with the Wolverines.
Uche appeared in nine games as a rookie. He recorded just nine tackles and one sack but had seven QB hits in limited defensive snaps (178). His production did not increase much in 2021. He finished his sophomore season in the NFL with 12 tackles and 3.0 sacks. Uche showed flashes as a pass-rusher, though was far from being a prominent player on New England’s defense. That all changed in 2022.
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Joshua Uche enjoyed a breakout season for the Patriots in 2022. He set career highs in tackles (27), solo tackles (23), sacks (11.5), QB hits (14), TFL (nine), and forced fumbles (two). He earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in Week 14 that season. Uche registered 3.0 sacks in a 27-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals. He added a QB hit that resulted in a Marcus Jones interception for New England.
Josh Uche beats the tackle with a hesi and speed, gets the sack.
Next play, rips past the tackle and causes an INT
Bonus clip of him converting speed to power and running over the RT.
This dude is a star pic.twitter.com/WySJxga6Jd
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) December 15, 2022
The 2023 season was excellent for the New England Patriots’ defense on the whole, though a disappointing one for Uche. He missed two games with a shoulder injury and never appeared to be 100%. He finished with 15 tackles (eight solo) and 3.0 sacks. His health, the absence of Matthew Judon, and added attention were all potential factors in addition to his own play.
Pro Football Focus gave Uche a 57.1 grade for his 2023 performance. Anything below 60.0 is not deemed worthy of a roster spot. By contrast, Uche received an 83.1 grade in 2022, which is Pro Bowl level.
Contract Status
Joshua Uche signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots this offseason. His cap number for 2024 is $2.94 million.
Patriots Edge Defenders
The New England Patriots have Matthew Judon, Joshua Uche, Anfernee Jennings, and Oshane Ximines as outside linebackers. The versatility of Jahlani Tavai also allows him to line up on the edge.
Outlook for Joshua Uche
Uche proved he is capable of being an incredibly productive NFL pass rusher. There is no reason to believe that simply forgetting how to play the position is the sole cause for his decreased production a year ago. As noted, there were multiple factors, including missing Matthew Judon attracting attention from the opposite edge.
The 2024 season is an incredibly important one for Uche. He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2025. Had he hit free agency a year ago he would have cashed in huge after a monster season. Instead, he returned to New England in 2023 on a team-friendly deal.
Joshua Uche reportedly re-signed with the New England Patriots for less money than he was offered elsewhere this offseason. While some view this simply as Uche’s desire to remain in New England, it can also be viewed as the outside linebacker betting on himself. With a season similar to his 2022 performance, Uche will hit free agency following this season and be ready to cash in big. It would be a win-win situation for both the player and the team. It is one nobody should be betting against.
