Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs made a couple of moves ahead of the trade deadline in hopes of bolstering their roster to make another deep postseason run to the Super Bowl.
The first move was acquiring veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans, which paid off for the Chiefs. Kansas City's other trade deadline move was trading for veteran pass rusher Josh Uche from the New England Patriots.
The 26-year-old Uche struggled to recapture his 2022 production with the Patriots, where he recorded 11.5 sacks. In his next 22 games with the Pats, Uche only had a mediocre five sacks.
With Uche set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024 season, it looked like a solid low-risk, high-reward move by the Chiefs. If there’s any team that could get Uche back on track, it's Kansas City.
However, that did not materialize as the former Patriot only appeared in six games and was inactive for four other contests. Uche also did not play a single snap in the postseason.
On Monday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked why the Uche trade didn't pan out. Uche signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. Reid admitted the veteran pass rusher wasn’t a great fit in Kansas City's defensive scheme.
"Probably wasn't a great fit for what we do, Reid said (h/t ALLPHLY's Zach Berman). And we got him late and we were trying to work him in. That's a tougher deal to do. Would have liked to see him throughout training camp so we have time to get him in there and go. By the time we got him, we were rolling. I'm not sure the fit was exactly what our defense needed ... He's a great kid."
Andy Reid on Josh Uche: "Probably wasn't a great fit for what we do. And we got him late and we were trying to work him in. That's a tougher deal to do. Would have liked to see him throughout training camp so we have time to get him in there and go. By the time we got him, we…
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) March 31, 2025
Reid saying Uche wasn’t what the Chiefs’ defense needed at the time was surprising, as you can never have too many pass-rushing options. At the same time, it seems as if Reid wanted to see if things could’ve changed with Uche if he stayed with the organization.
That said, the former Chiefs pass rusher will take his talents to Philadelphia, hoping to make an impact with the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles.