The New England Patriots have dug out of their slow start, and that’s putting them in position to think like buyers ahead of the trade deadline.
If they decide to add on the defensive side, one familiar name is already in the mix: Josh Uche.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell recently floated the idea of the Patriots as a possible landing spot for the veteran edge rusher, and the fit is easy to see. In Barnwell’s view, Miami does not have many obvious trade pieces left, but Uche stands out as a player who could still attract interest.
“While the Dolphins don't have many sensible assets left to trade, veteran edge Josh Uche is an option. Uche just turned 28 in September, but he's set to be a free agent in the spring and may not be in Miami's long-term plans.
However, he's a talented rotational defender who would interest teams that need help rushing the passer," Knox wrote. "Potential Suitors: New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles."
For New England, the appeal goes beyond need. Uche is already a known commodity for the franchise, and he has done his best work there.
Over 58 games across five seasons with the Patriots from 2020 to 2024, Uche totaled 20.5 sacks and 76 combined tackles. His peak came in 2022, when he posted a career-high 11.5 sacks in New England.
That history is why the Patriots make sense as a team to watch if they go after him before the deadline. The question now is whether they actually pull the trigger.
In Other News...
Dolphins Defensive Tackle Move Says Plenty About This Thin Room
The Dolphins have been busy shuffling the edges of a defensive tackle room that has little room for comfort, and Mazi Smith was the latest name to come and go. The former Cowboys first-round pick had been claimed off waivers earlier in the season, then added to Miamis practice squad after being activated earlier in the month, a sequence that underscored how quickly the team has been trying to sort out depth inside.
With Smith now a free agent again, the bigger picture around the Dolphins defensive front is hard to ignore. Jeff Hafley said the bye week is being used to evaluate the players, the scheme and the coaching after the recent roster movement, which gives this week a bigger feel than just another pause in the schedule. For a thin room, every transaction says something, and this one left Smiths future in the NFL unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Face A Draft Dilemma Bigger Than Jeremiah Smith
Miamis draft conversation already feels bigger than one blue-chip receiver. Sitting third in the 2027 order, the Dolphins are in a position that could reshape the franchise, and ESPNs Football Power Index has them with a 49 percent chance to wind up with the No. 1 overall pick. That kind of draft capital invites fantasies about Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith, but it also forces a wider look at what actually changes a teams ceiling.
The history lesson matters here: teams that win it all usually do so by landing premium quarterbacks or impact players at positions with broader value, not by getting locked into one name at the top of the board. For Miami, that leaves a real decision coming into focus, one that could point toward a quarterback, a different cornerstone, or even a move down if the board and the market break the right way. Smith is the headline-grabbing option, but he may not be the most consequential one. [Read more 🡒]
Malik Willis Just Added More Tension To A Brutal Dolphins Loss
The Dolphins loss to Cincinnati already had enough frustration attached to it, and Malik Willis added another layer of noise afterward. Bengals safety Jordan Battle came away with two interceptions and seven tackles in the game, then suggested he had picked up on a clue in Willis throwing motion that helped him jump routes.
Willis pushed back on that idea, saying he does not have a tell before he throws and pointing to other reasons for Battles interceptions. For Miami, it is the kind of postgame detail that lingers because it touches on execution, scouting and confidence all at once, with the final word in the back-and-forth still hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]