Adam Schefter Adds New Detail About Patriots’ Joshua Uche Trade

There seemingly wasn’t a realistic scenario where Joshua Uche played out the 2024 season with the Patriots.

Uche’s expiring contract made him a textbook trade candidate for New England, one of the worst teams in the NFL. And after scratching a healthy Uche from last Sunday’s win over the New York Jets, the Patriots on Monday traded the talented pass-rusher to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The two-time defending Super Bowl champions stood to improve along their front seven, so bringing in Uche made sense. But if the Patriots didn’t strike a deal with the Chiefs, they apparently would have done so with a different team.

“They were trading him all along,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “The Chiefs were the team that was interested, and now it’s official. He’ll be a Kansas City Chief.”

Uche reportedly left more money and term on the table this past offseason when he took a one-year contract to stay with the Patriots. The Michigan product clearly had an interest in staying in Foxboro, Mass., for the long haul, but he now has an opportunity to play with the best team in football before hitting the market again.

The Chiefs could take their first look at Uche on Monday night when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.