What Patriots LB Josh Uche said about signing a possible extension after a breakout 2022 season
"I understand it’s a business, and business is business. So, no hard feelings, I guess.”
FOXBOROUGH — Josh Uche is setting himself up for an impressive pay raise next summer.
The fourth-year linebacker and 2020 second-round draft pick put it all together on the field in 2022, emerging as a feared pass rusher alongside Matthew Judon.
After racking up four sacks over his first two NFL campaigns, Uche recorded 11.5 sacks last year to go along with 14 quarterback hits. He gained momentum as the year went on, totaling all of his sacks over his final 10 games of the season.
Uche, set to enter the final year of his rookie contract in New England in 2023, can lock in a hefty new deal if he continues to torment opposing quarterbacks this fall.
But it remains to be seen if the Patriots will be the ones willing to pen such a contract for him.
Speaking to the media following Thursday’s practice at Gillette Stadium, Uche acknowledged that his agents have already entered into discussions with New England on a new deal.
“They’ve been in communication,” Uche said. “I just didn’t want to worry myself with the details. I just let [my agents] handle all the little stuff and just come out here and work each day.”
The Patriots are expected to be flush with cap flexibility in 2024, with OverTheCap.com noting that New England is expected to enter next summer with $107 million in cap space, the most among all 32 NFL teams.
But Uche is far from the only player that New England needs to retain next summer. Fellow 2020 draftees in Kyle Dugger and Michael Onwenu are also set for new contracts, while other key cogs like Hunter Henry, Trent Brown, Mike Gesicki, Kendrick Bourne and others are set to hit free agency.
Even though Uche has emerged as a dominant force up front for a revamped New England defense, it remains to be seen what kind of contract the Michigan product will command.
The Patriots, who selected a potential pass-rushing replacement in second-round DE Keion White during the 2023 NFL Draft, could opt to move on from Uche in order to allocate his new payday to other areas of the roster.
For now, Uche isn’t getting caught up in where he might land next season.
“Wherever I’m wanted, wherever I’m needed, I’m willing to work,” Uche added. “Wherever I may be — God willing it’s here — I’ll just give it everything I got.”
Still, even though the pass-rushing specialist echoed the usual spiel in terms of separating himself from arduous contract talks, he did acknowledge that the best-case scenario involves him not having to pack his bags at all next summer.
“This is the team that took a chance on me when I know a lot of other teams didn’t know what to possibly do with me or what I was coming out of college,” Uche said of his ties to the Patriots. “This is the team that developed me into the player I’ve become. This is the place I’ve called home for the last four years.
“I’m comfortable. I know the area, I’ve got family out here, and I love it out here. And I’ve been able to make myself at home. And I would love to be here. But at the end of the day, I understand it’s a business, and business is business. So, no hard feelings, I guess.”
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