New England Trades Joshua Uche to Kansas City

Joshua Uche returned to the New England Patriots on a one-year contract this past offseason. Rumors at the time indicated Uche turned down less money elsewhere because he wanted to stay in New England and prove what he was capable of in 2024. The thought was that a solid season allowed Uche to cash in when he hit free agency a second time in 2025. Uche’s time in New England has now come to an end, as the Patriots have traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs for a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The compensation for Uche is minimal. The general rule of thumb when trading NFL Draft picks is that a year into the future reduces the value of a pick by one round. Thus, a sixth-round selection in 2026 is roughly the equivalent of a seventh-round pick in 2025. It seems strange that no contending team would have been willing to part with a sixth-round pick in April’s draft or that Eliot Wolf would not have preferred the earlier option in exchange for Uche.

Patriots trading pass rusher Josh Uche to Chiefs for a 2026 6th-round pick. (via @RapSheet + @MikeGarafolo) pic.twitter.com/to84SIXss0

— NFL (@NFL) October 28, 2024

Reports placed Joshua Uche as a trade candidate last week. He dressed for yesterday’s game against the New York Jets but did not play. As a result, today’s trade does not come as a surprise. The NFL Trade Deadline is at 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 5.

Joshua Uche

New England made Uche a second-round selection (No. 60 overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft. He recorded 20.5 sacks in his 58 games for the Patriots. This included 11.5 sacks in 2022 when he lined up opposite Pro Bowl linebacker Matthew Judon. However, his other four NFL seasons combined do not match his contributions for that one season, making it appear an aberration to some. His play this season has been inconsistent, starring in some games while struggling in others, as has been a common theme for many Patriots.

Uche, amirite?@_Uche35 | #ForeverNE

📺: @NFLonCBS / Patriots app pic.twitter.com/14oLW3Kf6y

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 12, 2021

Uche signed a one-year deal during this past offseason to return to New England for the 2024 season. Since the start of training camp, the Patriots have traded away Matthew Judon, and Oshane Ximines suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Anfernee Jennings is now the lone outside linebacker from that original foursome on the active roster for New England.

Eliot Wolf has not traded for an NFL since taking over as having final player personnel say in the Patriots front office. He has traded away Mac Jones, Matthew Judon, and Joshua Uche. The returns have been a sixth-round pick in 2024 (Joe Milton III), a third-round pick in 2025, and now a sixth-round pick in 2026.

Joshua Uche goes from the 2-8 New England Patriots to the 7-0 Kansas City Chiefs. He reunites with former teammates JuJu Smith-Schuster and Joe Thuney. Uche has played in only one career playoff game, a loss in 2021. His chances of adding to that total this season just increased significantly.