Patriots News: Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Malik Cunningham and Josh Uche

Josh Uche "isn't enamored" with staying in New England

At the end of the 2023 season, the Patriots have a long list of pending free agents, with some considered the most desirable at their position. One of those players is Josh Uche, who will enter free agency for the first time in his career in March.

How the coaching staff views him has been confusing this season in particular, as reports indicated the linebacker was almost traded before the deadline, but the Patriots were not willing to lower their asking price to make a deal happen. If that's an accurate report, it seems like Belichick won't be too interested in re-signing him.

But that feeling may be mutual, at least according to Boston Sports Journal's Mike Giardi, who suggested Uche isn't exactly happy with his current role in the Patriots' defense, a feeling that grew since Matthew Judon's season ended due to injury.

Because Uche's role hasn't increased in his absence, Giardi says he may be looking elsewhere to be given more opportunities.

"I don’t get the sense that Uche is enamored with the idea of staying in this system (as currently constituted). His role has diminished despite Matthew Judon’s injury, which caught NFL folks’ attention outside New England. That said, despite Uche’s sack totals being down, his pass rush metrics are still impressive, which leads me to believe he will be in high demand."

Regardless of how well he's performed statistically in metrics outside of sack totals, an unhappy player in his current system doesn't bode well for Belichick if he intended on re-signing Uche to a long-term deal.

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