One year ago, Josh Uche was the subject of considerable trade interest. With the Patriots set up to operate as sellers in 2024, the fifth-year edge rusher is again a candidate to be dealt.
New England reportedly came very close to working out a trade agreement in Uche’s case last October. He wound up remaining with the team, though, playing out the rest of his rookie contract. The 26-year-old (like many other Patriots, especially on defense) would up staying in place this offseason by signing a one-year deal. As a pending free agent for the second straight year, he would again represent a low-cost pickup for a contending team.
To little surprise, then, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report Uche’s name is “floating around the trade market.” The former second-rounder is attached to a base salary of only $1.3MM, and any acquiring team would take on a prorated portion of that figure. Especially as a rental at that financial cost, Uche could be an attractive target to any number of suitors. Expectations would likely be tempered in terms of role and production in the event of a deal, though.
Uche’s snap shares have ranged between 30-38% during his career. Never known for his run defense, the Michigan product flashed potential as sack artist in 2022 with a career-high 11.5 in that department. The following season resulted in only three sacks, however, and Uche has managed a pair so far this year. With the Patriots sitting at 1-6, they could be inclined to take a late-round pick as a means of giving him a fresh start on a team willing to add him as a rotational depth piece. Interestingly, Uche changed agents this summer, so being dealt to a new team could alter the nature of talks on a contract keeping him in place beyond 2024.
The receiver position has become a talking point recently in New England, and veteran Kendrick Bourne has been added to the list of potential trade candidates. A move returning him to San Francisco in particular would be sensible, but the 29-year-old said earlier this week he prefers to remain with the Patriots. Younger members of the WR room have expressed frustration with their situations, though, and that includes K.J. Osborn. The free agent addition has seen his playing time drop since the start of the season, something which is no doubt not sitting well.
Osborn, 27, posted consistent secondary production from 2021-23 with the Vikings. He only managed a one-year deal worth $4MM on the open market, and that pact includes a base salary of just $1.18MM. The NFL Network piece notes Osborn is thus a likelier trade candidate than Bourne as teams continue to sort out a wideout market no longer featuring Davante Adams, Amari Cooper or DeAndre Hopkins. It will be interesting to see how first-year general manager Eliot Wolf and rookie head coach Jerod Mayo handle the Patriots’ trade chips in advance of the November 5 deadline.
