Laddie Morse
While there’s been speculation that the Chiefs were not done making trade moves before the early November NFL Trade Deadline, no one expected the Chiefs to be trading for another pass rusher. The pass rusher in question here is Josh Uche of the New England Patriots. Here’s CBS Sports including Pete Prisco’s take on that move (4:08):
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If you’re at all like me, then you know little about Josh Uche. Uche was pick #60 in the 2020 NFL Draft for the Pats and while he’s had only 2.0 sacks this season he had 11.5 sacks in 2022. K.C. gave up a 6th round pick in the 2026 NFL draft so Brett Veach is spreading out his draft capital losses. Uche just turned 26 years old and is still heading into his prime as a football player.
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Trade Compensation Note: sportskeekda.com has an article called, “Josh Uche salary: How much will ex-Patriots LB earn after shocker Chiefs trade?” in which they reveal:
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“Uche re-signed with the Patriots this offseason when
he inked a one-year $3M contract. As per Spotrac, his deal
included a $1M signing bonus, with $2.3M in guaranteed
money.”
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Apparently. if Josh Uche doesn’t re-sign with K.C. this coming offseason, the Chiefs would recoup a 7th round pick in 2026.
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Uche is out of Michigan (same college as Mike Danna and Frank Clark) and yes, he had 11.5 sacks in the 2022 NFL season, so are his highlights from that year (4:52):
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The Chiefs must be thinking their collection of pass rushers is inadequate. They had 5 sacks from their front 7 vs the Raiders and while that seems plentiful, the Chiefs must not be satisfied, as they rank 24th in the league with 15. Even with Charles Omenihu set to return later this season, the team clearly needs more. From KMBC, they are stating:
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“Many say this is a sign that Charles Omenihu
may not be back as soon as promised.”
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Uche is the type of player that Chiefs GM, Brett Veach likes to go after: first or second round picks. However, as Pete Prisco points out, the Chiefs biggest need is at Left Tackle.
With his poor performance on Sunday, Wanya Morris has clearly spelled out that need. Bill Barnwell points out what many of us have been thinking:
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Wanya Morris is more responsible for the Raiders 3rd quarter INT than Patrick Mahomes was, even though Mahomes was the one who threw the pass. Morris had two penalties on that series of downs prior to Mahomes throwing the INT. Had the Defense not bailed them out of a bad situation, deep in the red zone, at the goal line, we likely would be facing a different outcome to the game.
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Yung Chiefs Lord – Photo Credit
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I don’t always agree with PFF, like the grade for Nick Bolton is way off, IMHO. However, their grade for Wanya Morris may even be lower than the 35.9 which they gave him. Joe Summers of KCKingdom.com wrote a piece called, “Chiefs Need to Bench Second-Year Starter After Week 8 Disaster” in which he said:
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“With just one week until the trade deadline, it’s
possible Brett Veach is forced to make a move or
even bring 2023 starter Donovan Smith back.…
The rest of Kansas City’s offensive line is among
the NFL’s best. That being said, left tackle is widely
considered the most important spot on the line.”
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Donovan Smith, the Chiefs starting Left Tackle last season, turned 31 in June of this year and I don’t know if his age is an issue, but Brett Veach needs to think about bringing him back for another Super Bowl run. SharpFootballAnalysis.com has Donovan Smith listed as their top Free Agent Left Tackles. I don’t know if Brett Veach has called Donovan Smith, but it’s worth a try now that we’re approaching mid-season and that just means, it should cost less to bring him in.
Donovan Smith signed a contract last year with K.C. for 1.98M and 1.02M in incentives. Last season, he turned out to be an upgrade over Orlando Brown Jr. (the starting LT in 2021 and 2022). At this point in the year, it looks like K.C. could not only afford him… but it’s a deal they need to make.
Donovan Smith was never a pro Bowl level LT, but his play was reliable and it clearly looks like Wanya Morris and Kingsley Suamataia are at least a year away from being able to handle that position well.
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While I understand the reasons why Brett Veach might have traded for another pass rusher, Laceyyy C clearly points out the need for a corner and/or a LT. With the concussion to CB Nazeeh Johnson on Sunday, plus the poor play of Wanya Morris, I’m not sure what Veach was thinking with the addition of Uche. Here’s a highlight of Donovan Smith torquing the 6-foot-5, 261 lbs. Carl Granderson off his feet, throwing him to the ground, then driving him down to the ground on the next play:
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The reason for this particular highlight is that I doubt that Wanya Morris could make either of those plays. I don’t know of what kind of shape Donovan Smith is in right now, but if K.C. brings him in, he certainly could be ready in a month.
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Bill Belichick, who drafted Josh Uche, said in a SportsIllustrated.com article called, “He Can Really Help Them“:
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“Look, Josh Uche’s a really good rusher. He hasn’t
had a chance to rush much this year for the Patriots
because they’ve been behind a lot and the situation
hasn’t been good, but he had a big year two years ago.”
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Belichick also said:
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“He’s got surprising power for his size, he’s got
excellent quickness and a good get-off,
and he has some flexibility in coverage.”
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“Flexibility in coverage.” Wow, we know Spags likes to drop a D lineman into coverage at times, so now he’ll have the perfect guy to do that with. Belichick also says the cost of a 6th round pick in 2026 is nothing (that’s especially true since K.C. will get a 7th round pick back if Uche doesn’t re-sign with K.C. this coming offseason).
This may be blasphemy for many Kingdom fans, especially for those who consider themselves long term fans, but Uche’s get-off reminds me of Derrick Thomas’ get-off. If he approaches even a fraction of that DT potential, he could help the Chiefs three-peat for sure.
What do you think of the trade possibilities for K.C. before the trade deadline gets here? Or, what do you think about the possibilities of bringing Donovan Smith back? One last thing about this trade for Josh Uche…
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An early, early birthday present CJ! (BTW, CJ’s BD is on July 3)
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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