Patriots Trade Rumors: This Team ‘Looked Heavily’ Into Josh Uche

Patriots linebacker Josh Uche reportedly drew interest from a pair of NFC playoff contenders before the NFL trade deadline passed.

Uche was viewed as the player most likely to be traded out of New England, which plummeted to the cellar of the AFC standings with its Week 8 road loss to the Miami Dolphins. But when the clock struck 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Uche remained on the Patriots roster.

In a column published Wednesday morning, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler shed light on the market for the 2020 second-round pick, who is playing on an expiring contract.

“Uche’s market took a few turns in the past week,” Fowler wrote. “Seattle looked heavily into him before ultimately deciding to sign (Frank) Clark instead. Then in the past few days, the Saints got involved. The feeling on Uche was that a Day 3 pick might have facilitated a deal, making it more palatable for suitors who needed a pass-rusher but didn’t want to spend on (Montez) Sweat or (Chase) Young. But teams also cautioned that New England likes to appear open for business … until it isn’t.”

Bill Belichick and company ended up not doing any business Tuesday, as they didn’t cash in any of their valuable trade chips and chose not to bring in any talent. The inactivity sets the stage for what figures to be an eventful offseason when the Patriots will have to make tough decisions on a number of free agents and potentially make a splash addition or two.

In the meantime, an injury-ravaged New England team will need to trudge through its lost season. Next on the docket is a Week 9 home matchup with the rebuilding Washington Commanders.