Patriots Rumors: Why Teams Were ‘Scared’ To Acquire Josh Uche

A variety of factors apparently kept Josh Uche with the Patriots beyond Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.

The Jaguars reportedly were interested in Uche, but New England and Jacksonville couldn't find common ground on a return price for the talented linebacker. The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, simply went in a different direction after "heavily looking" into Uche before the league's trading window closed.

In a column published Wednesday morning, ESPN's Dan Graziano highlighted another factor that prevented the Patriots from trading the 2020 second-rounder who's playing on an expiring contract.

"The Patriots had some discussions with teams about edge rusher Josh Uche, but he has been in and out of the lineup with injuries lately, and that scared some teams off," Graziano wrote.

Despite those concerns, Uche was viewed as the most likely candidate to be traded out of Foxboro, Mass. before Tuesday's deadline. Now, the Michigan product will use New England's final nine games to try to boost his stock for 2024 free agency.