At the end of the day, the NFL is a business. Sure, there’s passion and love for the game, millions of screaming fans, but it’s a business.

Every franchise owner is a businessman, and they’re going to take the decisions that profit them. Or they’ll try to, at least. The players are assets to these businesses, and while they’re not literally “auctioned” like in baseball, they’re definitely treated as commodities. Joshua Uche just happened to be another commodity to Robert Kraft. Uche’s always been a fighter, and someone who wanted to be there for his team.

After a series of injuries in his frehsman and sophomore year at the University of Michigan, he’d expressed his frustration at his limited playing time to Don Brown, the defensive coordinator. Brown had reportedly replied, “Well go earn it, how about that? How about go earn it?” And so he earned himself a late second round pick from the Patriots in 2020. He had the chance to leave them behind earlier this year and win a much better contract as a free agent but didn’t. Joshua Uche wanted to stick by the Patriots, who’d done right by him. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I can’t envision myself playing for another team,” he said in March. So imagine the betrayal when the Patriots shipped him off to the Chiefs for a measly 6th round pick (in 2026!).

And Uche’s done right by the Patriots, by and large. The man is an excellent pass-rusher, 245lb of greased lightning on the field. Though he didn’t often start for them, he played in 58 games over more than the 4 years he was with them. 76 tackles and 20.5 sacks over that number make for pretty decent figures. And he certainly had games where he shone brightly. He’ll slot neatly into the Chiefs’ injury-stricken defense, and make them an even more formidable unit.

New England Patriots fans have been mourning the trade, and Kansas City Chiefs fans have been celebrating it. To look at it in purely mathematical terms, the Patriots don’t come out of the deal terribly, despite what experts are saying. Yes, a 6th round pick 2 years down the line isn’t much. But Uche was on a 1 year contract, and this season was already a bust for the Patriots. Better to get something out of the deal than let his contract run out and be left empty-handed. With the Patriots at 2-6, it’s not completely unfeasible they could try for the playoffs, but it’s unlikely. The Buffalo Bills have AFC East pretty much locked down at 6-2, after all. In a way, Uche could almost thank the Patriots for giving him a shot at winning a Super Bowl this year with the Chiefs.

Will Uche have a hand in the Chiefs’ 3-peat?

With two Super Bowl wins on the trot, you’d expect to see a team get lax. For them to start losing focus, trying less hard, and losing games they should’ve won. None of that has happened with the Kansas City Chiefs so far. Admittedly, the Chiefs have had some weaknesses with their offense, particularly at the start of the season, which Mahomes took the blame for. But Patrick Mahomes has since rallied, and the Chiefs look to be in better form than ever.

Injuries to Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown on offense, and Charles Omenihu and BJ Thompson on defense have been navigated. A series of effective transfers and some good performances from rookies have plugged the gaps. The only undefeated team in the league at 7-0, the Chiefs sit comfortably at the top of the AFC West. At this point, it would take a genuinely catastrophic losing streak to keep them out of the playoffs. Even if they only win half of their remaining games, they’ll be marching up there with a 12-5 record.

As for Joshua Uche, fans are already drooling at the idea of a stacked Chiefs defense. Uche has frequently taken on and felled heavier opponents and is deceptively powerful. The Chiefs for sure have a winning prospect on their hand with Uche.