The Patriots traded pass rusher Josh Uche to the Chiefs for a 2026 sixth-round pick today, and former Patriots coach Bill Belichick doesn’t think that move does anything to help New England.
Belichick, who drafted Uche in 2020 and coached him for four years, said on the Pat McAfee Show that the Patriots probably would have received at least a 2026 sixth-round compensatory pick for Uche anyway if he has left in free agency, so letting him go for that now isn’t worth it.
“Uche is at the end of his contract this year, he’ll be a free agent. If they don’t sign him they’ll get a comp pick, which will probably be a sixth anyway,” Belichick said. “Look, Josh Uche’s a really good rusher. He hasn’t had a chance to rush much this year for the Patriots because they’ve been behind a lot. The situation hasn’t been good. But he had a big year two years ago. Now, he had [Matthew] Judon was on the other side of him so it was two good pass rushers. But he’ll have a lot of opportunities to rush in Kansas City. I think that he’ll really help them. He’s got surprising power for his size. He’s got excellent quickness and a good get-off. And he has some flexibility in coverage. So I think it’s a good addition for a team that needs another pass rusher, which everybody does. Josh can do that. He’ll definitely help them.”
Belichick thinks that if the Patriots had played their cards better, they could have received a better return.
“The Patriots probably should have gotten more for him,” Belichick said.
Belichick, who last week criticized Patriots coach Jerod Mayo for calling his team soft, hasn’t held back this year in his comments about the Patriots, and his criticisms of how his old team is now doing business.