Josh Ushe found out the hard way that the NFL is a business where anything can happen.
The 26-year-old spent the first four-and-a-half years of his career with the New England Patriots as one of the main defensive cogs on a rebuilding team. When he was a free agent in the offseason, Uche admitted he took less money to stay with the only team he knew in his career.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” Uche explained at the time [h/t Mike Garafolo]. “I can’t envision myself playing for another team.” And now, he will finish out the season with Steven Spagnuolo and the Chiefs as Kansas City attempts to win its third straight championship.
On Monday, it was announced that Uche had been traded from the Patriots to the Chiefs for a 2026 6th-round pick. Shortly after the news broke, NFL legend Bill Belichick spoke on “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss the impact Uche could have in Kansas City.
Also, Belichick gave more insight into what kind of player the Chiefs will getting in Uche, who is young enough to make an impact for years to come, provided Kansas City elects to retain him. “I think when you have a good team, I think you can acquire an asset without giving up a lot – that’s a good move,” Belichick told McAfee.
“Uche is at the end of his contract this year – he’ll be a free agent. If they don’t re-sign him, then they’ll get a comp pick, which it probably will be a sixth anyway. So really, they didn’t give up anything other than they would have to wait a year to get that pick back.”
Along with explaining how the Chiefs potentially got a steal in trading for Uche, the 72-year-old former head coach dove deeper into what makes Uche such an attractive addition to Kansas City. “Josh Uche is a really good rusher,” Belichick continued.
“He hasn’t had a chance to rush much this year for the Patriots because they’ve been behind a lot and the situation hasn’t been good but he had a big year two years ago. Now, you know he had [Matthew] Judon on the other side of them, 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 and 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.”
The Chiefs trading for Uche marks the second big trade Kansas City made in the last handful of weeks. With the team’s main receivers injured, Kansas City swung a trade with the Tennessee Titans to acquire star wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
After being traded to the Chiefs, Hopkins made it clear how he felt playing for a contender after a handful of years in Tennessee. Speaking to reporters about the trade, Hopkins made it clear he was excited for the opportunity to play deep in the playoffs.
“It means a lot,” he shared. “It takes your game to a different level. It takes your focus, your drive, knowing that you’re playing for something. It takes your game to a different level. I haven’t played meaningful football in a couple years since we probably started 8-0 in Arizona. So it takes your game to a different level.”
Want to watch more live sports? Peacock has your favorite sports, shows, and more all in one place. Peacock offers plans starting at $7.99 so you can stream live sports like NFL, Premier League, and Big Ten Football.
Leave a Reply