Patriots veteran defenseman 'floating' on trade market

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

And one name keeps popping up in trade rumors.

NFL Media's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Saturday night that the Patriots could move on from veteran linebacker Joshua Uche as his trade market begins to heat up.

“For the second straight day, 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 no surprise that opponents would target Uche to try and add depth to the pass rush. The 26-year-old showed he can hold his own at quarterback while playing alongside Matthew Judon in 2022, when Uche recorded a career-high 11.5 sacks.

But when Judon missed most of 2023 with an injury and was traded away from New England before this season, Uche's performance plummeted. He recorded three sacks all of last season and had two sacks in seven games in 2024. He's also primarily a situational player, seeing just 35% of New England's defensive snaps this season.

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

Parting ways with Uche, whom New England drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, would likely give the Patriots additional draft capital for a player who will be a free agent after this season. New England must make a decision on trading Uche by the Nov. 5 trade deadline.