NFL Rumors: Patriots Veteran Defender ‘Floating’ On Trade Market

The New England Patriots could look to sell off a few pieces with the NFL trade deadline less than two weeks away.

And one name in particular keeps popping up in trade rumors.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Saturday night the Patriots could deal away veteran linebacker Joshua Uche with his trade market starting to heat up.

“For the second consecutive year, Uche’s name is floating around the trade market with his low base salary of $1.3 million only adding to his value,” Rapoport and Pelissero wrote.

It’s not a surprise that contenders would target Uche to try to add more pass-rushing depth. The 26-year-old showed he could get after the quarterback when playing opposite of Matthew Judon in 2022 as Uche tallied a career-high 11.5 sacks.

But when Judon missed most of 2023 with an injury and was shipped out of New England prior to this season, Uche’s production plummeted. He registered three sacks all of last season and has come up with two sacks through seven games in 2024. He’s mainly a situational player, too, only seeing the field for 35% of New England’s defensive snaps this season.

That might not deter a team team with Super Bowl aspirations like the Detroit Lions from trying to land Uche, especially after star lineman Aidan Hutchinson suffered a horrific leg injury.

Parting ways with Uche, who New England drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, in all likelihood would net the Patriots additional draft capital for a player who will be a free agent following this season. New England will have to make a decision about dealing Uche by the Nov. 5 trade deadline.