Josh Uche is just five years removed from being a second-round pick. He’s just three years removed from a double-digit sack season. He’s still just 26.
Could Uche really give the Eagles a boost in 2025?
He thinks so.
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“Being 26 years old, I’ve got a lot left in the tank,” Uche said in a Zoom call with Eagles reporters on Monday. “It just comes down to opportunity and getting on the field, doing my job. Whenever I’m on the field, I’ve been effective, I’ve been efficient. It’s just all about getting on the field and doing my job.”
Like all of the Eagles’ moves this offseason, Uche is a low-risk, high-reward type of signing. He has had just one year of big-time production in the NFL and barely played the second half of last season after getting traded from the Patriots to the Chiefs. But he has upside.
Uche’s one-year deal with the Eagles is worth just $1.92 million with just $1.25 million guaranteed. If he doesn’t work out, no real harm done. But if he does, maybe Uche could help bolster an Eagles’ edge rusher group that is a bit in flux after losing Josh Sweat to the Cardinals in free agency.
“There was a couple other teams out there interested,” Uche said. “The Eagles was the best fit for me, the most passionate in terms of pursuing me. I just feel like the history, the Super Bowl, just everything fell in line. The stars aligned. I just feel like it’s where God is calling me to be.”
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The Eagles will bring back Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt as their top two returning edge players in 2025 and they added Azeez Ojulari in free agency on Monday. After that, we’ll see what they get out of 2024 free agent pickup Bryce Huff.
But there’s no doubt the Eagles entered free agency needing more depth at edge rusher. And with a tight salary cap situation, they went to the bargain bin to find Uche, who definitely has some ability.
It wasn’t that long ago that Uche had 11 1/2 sacks with the Patriots in 2022. But he has just nine sacks in his other four years combined. What makes Uche’s 2022 even more unique is that all of his sacks that season came within an eight-game stretch after playing five games without a sack and then sitting out two games with a hamstring injury to start that season.
From Weeks 8 through 16 in 2022, Uche had all 11 1/2 of his sacks.
On Monday, he recalled the most productive stretch of his NFL career.
“I was getting some pressures in and things like that (early in the season) but the sacks weren’t falling,” Uche said. “But you just continue to swing and eventually they come in bunches. Continuing to do your job even though you’re not getting the results you want. You can’t be a selfish player in this game. You gotta do your job and the stars will align and eventually your time will come.
“It was a situation where I just kept swinging and that stretch came and I did what I was supposed to do. That’s the player I’ve always been. Sometimes the sacks haven’t always reflected that but whenever I’m on the field, I’m efficient. I try to win.”
While 2022 was clearly Uche’s best season as an NFL player, he has shown some other flashes. In 2023, Uche had just 3 sacks but got off to a good start against the Eagles in that season opener with a sack and a QB hit against Jalen Hurts.
And his pressure rate was still pretty high after his career season, despite the significant drop-off in sacks:
2022: 11 1/2 sacks, 49 pressures, 18.5% pressure rate
2023: 3 sacks, 33 pressures, 15.3% pressure rate
The Eagles saw Uche up close in that 2023 season opener in New England — he got to exchange jerseys with fellow Michigan alum Brandon Graham after the game — and the Eagles saw him again at a joint practice with the Patriots in Foxboro this past summer.
“Just getting after it,” Uche recalled about that joint session. “I definitely remember Saquon (Barkley) on a wheel route, scoring a touchdown there. Just competitiveness, man. It was a gritty practice, hot day and had some fun out there.”
After beginning the 2024 season with the Patriots, Uche was traded to the Chiefs for a sixth-round pick before the trade deadline. But after arriving in Kansas City, Uche couldn’t get on the field. He played just 87 defensive snaps with the Chiefs and most of them came in the regular season finale.
Uche didn’t see any playing time in the playoffs and was inactive for Super Bowl LIX when his Chiefs lost to the Eagles in New Orleans. Uche on Monday admitted it was disappointing to not get playing time but said he was focused on doing whatever the Chiefs needed.
As he joins the Eagles in March, Uche will at least have all of OTAs and training camp with the team to prove himself. He didn’t have that luxury after getting traded to Kansas City midway through the 2024 season.
“I view it as an opportunity to compete and help bolster a team that’s already had so much success,” Uche said. “To play for a coach like Coach (Nick) Sirianni and Coach (Vic) Fangio is an honor. Two great coaches in their own respects. Just getting an opportunity to continue to play this game and fulfill my potential.”
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