The New England Patriots are re-signing edge rusher Josh Uche to a one-year, $3 million deal that has $5 million available in incentives. The 2020 second-round pick has shown flashes of upside in his four-year NFL career, but he posted just three sacks in 2023 after an 11.5-sack season in 2022. He'll get at least one more season in New England to try to impress new head coach Jerod Mayo as the organization heads into a rebuild. If the 25-year-old can put it all together, this could be a great value signing for New England.
New England Patriots edge rusher Josh Uche must step up in a Week 5 matchup against the New Orleans Saints in the absence of Patriots sack leader Matt Judon. Judon will have surgery to address a biceps injury he suffered in Week 4. Uche has played well as the Patriots' pass rush specialist. He has rushed the passer on 70.3% of his snaps, and he has created pressure on 23.4% of his pass rushes, a high rate. But Judon has played 40 more passing downs than Uche and 52 more rushing downs. This matchup against the Saints presents a prime opportunity if Uche can take advantage of it, as the Saints' offensive line allows pressure and sacks at a higher rate than average.
The New England Patriots placed edge rusher Josh Uche (ankle) on Injured Reserve on Wednesday. The 23-year-old will now miss at least the next three games. Uche had been playing a rotational role for the New England defense and had only missed one game this year. The second-year pass-rusher played 31.2% of the defensive snaps behind Matthew Judon and Kyle Van Noy and was mainly used as a situational pass-rusher on obvious passing downs. Uche has recorded three sacks, 10 tackles, four QB hits and a fumble recovery in 2021. In other injury news for New England, the team activated defensive lineman Chase Winovich (hamstring) from IR.
The New England Patriots have agreed to a four-year deal with rookie linebacker Josh Uche, who was selected in the second round of this year's draft. He recorded 33 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks through 12 games during his senior season at Michigan. He suffered injuries during his first two seasons, which cost him significant playing time. Uche has plenty of potential but does not quite have as much experience as other players in the draft. The Patriots are hopeful that Uche can serve a regular role on their defense. We'll see what he brings to the table during camp this fall.
The New England Patriots made a trade with the Baltimore Ravens to pick up the No. 60 pick in the 2020 NFL draft, which they used to select Michigan linebacker Josh Uche. The senior didn't receive any starts at Michigan until his final season, where he started nine of 13 games for the Wolverines while racking up 35 tackles and 8.5 sacks. Uche is a dynamic defender who has plenty of potential as an edge rusher, although he could wind up as a situational pass rusher instead of a true every-down linebacker. There is potential, however, as Uche boasts sideline-to-sideline play-making ability and could become a quality NFL linebacker if he continues to improve.
