After a month of being teased by the preseason, the New England Patriots are finally ready to open the 2025 season. An opener with the Las Vegas Raiders is enough to draw the attention of Patriots fans who are looking to improve from the disappointment of back-to-back three-win seasons with the hiring of head coach Mike Vrabel. Week 1 also has a chance to be a big revelation for some of the players who left New England with Vrabel’s arrival as head coach.
Most of the decisions could be good ones, as Vrabel has brought his own guys to Foxborough to expedite the process. But there are also some players whom Patriots fans still wish were on the roster, including edge rusher Josh Uche, who took a big step toward reviving his career on Thursday night.
Former Patriot Josh Uche Got Off on the Right Foot in Eagles Debut
Uche made his debut with the Philadelphia Eagles, making an impact in a situational role during a 24-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The 27-year-old played just 19 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, but they were noticeable as he racked up four pressures and a 92.7 grade on 18 pass-rushing snaps.
Making this kind of impact in a situational role is a good way to introduce yourself to a new team. But it’s even more true when Uche is trying to revive a career that looked promising a few years ago.
A second-round pick by the Patriots in the 2020 draft, Uche had a modest start to his career with four sacks over his first two seasons before exploding for 11.5 sacks in 2022. While some may have viewed it as a 24-year-old breakout, Uche never found that same form, logging a pair of sacks in 2023 and two sacks in 2024 before he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs last October.
Uche failed to register a sack and had just one pressure on 87 pass-rushing snaps with the Chiefs and was a healthy scratch in the Super Bowl, leading him to land with the Eagles on a one-year, $1.92 million contract this offseason.
The Eagles were a solid choice to try and get back on the right track as they’ve made household names out of several edge rushers, including Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith Jr., who are currently in starting roles in front of Uche. Philadelphia also had several reclamation projects on its way to winning the Super Bowl last season, including linebacker Zack Baun and offensive guard Mekhi Becton.
The Patriots threw their chips elsewhere to fix their pass rush this season, signing Harold Landry III and taking a flier on former first-round pick K’Lavon Chaisson in free agency. But it will be interesting to see if Uche is set to become the Eagles’ next revival or was a beneficiary of opening night adrenaline.