Bill Belichick reacts to Patriots trading Josh Uche to Chiefs originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
On Monday, the New England Patriots traded edge rusher Josh Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2026 sixth-round draft pick. If Bill Belichick were still in charge in Foxboro, it’s safe to say the move wouldn’t have been made.
The former Patriots head coach and de facto general manager shared his reaction to the trade during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. He noted New England’s struggles this season while commending Kansas City for adding a pass rusher for a minuscule price.
“(The Chiefs) didn’t give up anything in my mind,” Belichick said. “Look, Josh Uche’s a really good rusher. He hasn’t had a chance to rush much this year for the Patriots because they’ve been behind a lot. The situation hasn’t been good.”
“He had a big year two years ago. Now, he had (Matthew) Judon on the other side of him so it was two good pass-rushers. But he’ll have a lot of opportunities to rush in Kansas City. I think that he’ll really help them. He’s got surprising power for his size. He’s got excellent quickness and a good get-off. And he has some flexibility in coverage. So I think it’s a good addition for a team that needs another pass-rusher, which everybody does. Josh can do that. He’ll definitely help them.”
The Belichick-led Patriots selected Uche in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The Michigan product totaled 20.5 sacks in 58 games with New England. He racked up a career-high 11.5 sacks in 15 games during the 2022 campaign.
Uche hasn’t been able to duplicate that success over the last two years. He has 13 tackles and two sacks in seven games this season.
The Patriots re-signed Uche to a one-year, $3 million contract last offseason. Uche reportedly turned down “significantly more money” to stay in New England.
Now, he’ll leave a 2-6 team for a 7-0 juggernaut looking for its third consecutive Super Bowl title. The Chiefs already boasted one of the NFL’s top defenses, but they’ll hope adding Uche boosts a pass rush that ranks 24th in sacks (15) this season.
