Tag: Josh Uche

Report: Patriots, LB Josh Uche agree to terms on one-year deal

LB Josh Uche is expected to re-sign with the Patriots

The pass-rushing gang is back together in New England.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport, the Patriots have agreed to terms on a one-year deal to re-sign pending free agent linebacker Josh Uche.

Per Garafolo, Uche had a more lucrative offer elsewhere, but he chose to stay in New England for the 2024 season.

The former second-round draft pick appeared to be on the verge of breaking out in 2022, when he mustered 11.5 sacks on the season. However, there was a significant drop-off last season. Not only did his on-field production take a hit, but he also saw a steady decline in his snap count.

Uche has given a boost to the Patriots in situational pass-rushing downs, but he clearly struggled against the run enough to continue seeing limits to his early-down work. Maybe the way he’s utilized will change with coach Jerod Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington grabbing the reins of the defense from former coach Bill Belichick.

Uche is an explosive player who is at his best when pinning his ears back and getting after opposing quarterbacks. Perhaps Mayo and company can unlock the version of that same player that made noise opposite of Judon over a year ago.

Projected market value for Patriots’ top pending free agents

The Patriots have multiple in-house free agents they might want to re-sign. Here’s what it could cost them.

Big decisions loom on the horizon for the New England Patriots heading into free agency.

They’re sitting pretty right now with roughly over $100 million in available salary cap space, but they are also a team bogged down with various holes and upgrade needs on their roster.

Free agency isn’t just about paying big money to load up on outside talent. It’s also about keeping the talent you already have to ensure some continuity. Not everything was bad with the 4-13 Patriots, and this isn’t a situation where the organization is looking to throw the entire team away.

There were pieces that stood out as potential parts of an eventual solution in New England. and it now falls on Patriots executive Eliot Wolf and the front office to figure out ways to keep those pieces intact.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at the Patriots’ top free agents and their projected market values, according to PFF.com and Spotrac.com.

1 pending free agent Chargers should target: AFC East Edition

Listing one free agent from the Patriots, Bills, Jets and Dolphins who could be a fit for the Chargers.

The Chargers won’t be aggressive when it comes to signing free agents, as they’re currently $22.1 million over the projected salary cap.

While they’re cash-strapped, general manager Joe Hortiz will make some moves to have some spendings available to them so they can sign some.

That said, I will list one pending free agent from each team in the NFL that could be a realistic target for L.A.

Next up is the AFC East.

Ranking 2024’s top 12 free-agent pass rushers

There’s a pretty familiar name in this group.

Whether the Carolina Panthers tag or extend Brian Burns, we’re not going to see the two-time Pro Bowler even swim in the waters of free agency. But until then, he’s one of the 12 best edge defenders whose contracts are officially up.

Here’s Burns and his 11 pass-rushing pals:

4 Patriots players made ESPN’s top-50 pending free agents list

The Patriots have some key contracts coming due in the offseason, and four of those made ESPN’s top-50 free agents list

The New England Patriots have multiple key free agents with pending contracts on both sides of the ball. So before they start looking outwards, they’ll have to pull up a mirror and make decisions on players on their own roster first.

Who stays and who goes in New England?

That will be one of the biggest questions facing the team in March. One has to wonder how the new regime will impact the decision-making as well with Bill Belichick no longer serving as the de facto general manager.

The Patriots are clearly heading into a rebuilding season, and they will have to make some tough decisions to ensure their ability to address the most problematic areas on the roster.

ESPN’s Matt Bowen put together a top-50 ranking of NFL players on pending free agent contracts, and there were four Patriots players on the list.

Here’s where those players ranked:

Patriots’ 7 most disappointing players in 2023

Here are the Patriots’ seven most disappointing players in 2023.

There is enough blame to go around for the New England Patriots’ failures in 2023. So it wouldn’t be fair to point the finger at one or two people for the team’s worst season in the Bill Belichick era.

With that said, there were multiple players that failed to live up to expectations in a year when the team desperately needed a turnaround to rid themselves of the stench from the 2022 season.

Unfortunately, things didn’t get better for the Patriots. They got much worse, despite clear efforts to turn things around.

The team sunk to 4-13 on the year and finished dead last in the AFC East division. Belichick’s 24-year run as head coach came to an end, and the team is now on the journey to rebuild with a new regime in place.

Here are the seven most disappointing players for the Patriots in 2023:

18 pending free agents for Patriots heading into offseason

18 pending Patriots free agents heading into the offseason

The New England Patriots head into an offseason of uncertainty with a slew of pending free agents.

Of course, the first order of business is making a decision on whether Bill Belichick stays, goes or has his powers stripped as the de facto general manager for the team.

Then the Patriots can begin to attack the who stays and who goes questions.

Whoever takes over the personnel decisions will have a tough run right out of the gates with key free agents likely requiring big contracts to keep employed. Players like offensive guard/swing tackle Mike Onwenu and safety Kyle Dugger won’t be returning for cheap.

And that’s only scratching the surface. Here are 18 pending free agents for the Patriots heading into the offseason:

Predicting Patriots 2024 free agent contracts and destinations

Where will the Patriots’ pending 2024 free agents land and for what kind of contracts?

As the season wraps up, regardless of who is in charge, pending unrestricted free agents will be trying to put as much good tape out there as possible.

They’ll be looking to earn as much money as possible on their future deal, along with setting themselves up with the best possible fit for them to continue producing.

The Patriots are expected to have around $100 million in cap space to spend in 2024, and they will likely want to add some outside talent to help fix one of the league’s worst offensive rosters.

Given their age and position, I have assumed Matthew Slater and Cody Davis will both retire. It’s also worth noting the Patriots will need to actually spend real dollars at the start of a new three-year period, per league rules. They can spend money now, in 2025 or 2026. But they need to spend real cap dollars to be compliant.

Here are each of the Patriots’ unrestricted free agents, and where I think they’ll land, as well as for how much.

Patriots’ top 10 defensive players in Week 16, per PFF grades

Here are the 10 highest-graded Patriots defensive players in the win over the Broncos, per PFF.

Despite having key players out of the lineup, the New England Patriots were suffocating defensively against the Denver Broncos.

There was nowhere to run or breathe for Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, who was constantly hit and harassed by the Patriots’ powerful and underrated defensive front.

Defensive tackle Christian Barmore led the charge with three sacks and four quarterback hits. He dominated up front and made it incredibly difficult for Wilson to settle in the pocket. It’s no surprise that the four highest-graded defensive players by Pro Football Focus were on New England’s defensive front.

The unit has overperformed all season, even in the absence of leading pass-rusher Matthew Judon. Defense remains the calling card for the Patriots, and in many ways, that continued to prove to be the case on Sunday night against the Broncos.

Here are the 10 highest-graded defensive players for the Patriots in Week 16, per PFF.

Studs and duds in Patriots’ Week 15 loss to Chiefs

Who were the studs and duds for the Patriots in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs.

The New England Patriots put up a valiant fight against the Kansas City Chiefs, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to upset the defending Super Bowl champions on Sunday.

There were some clear similarities to this week and the Patriots’ stunning win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

The offense came out firing on all cylinders in the first half and then crashed into a wall for the last two quarters of the game. It wasn’t a perfect effort defensively, but the unit did do enough to give the Patriots a fighting chance in this game.

Perhaps the only difference was Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense consistently putting up points on the scoreboard. Even after stalled drives, they still found a way to march down the field and score points when they really needed it. That wasn’t the case for Bailey Zappe and the Patriots, unfortunately.

Here are the studs and duds from the game: