Steve Belichick: Josh Uche is ‘an important piece to the puzzle'

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This offseason, the Patriots have treated their outside linebacker position like it's set. Even after releasing Kyle Van Noy, who played almost 500 snaps on the edge last season, there wasn't an impact player added there.

Outside of Matt Judon, there's little certainty at that spot, and it's one of the most expensive positions in the sport. Still, nothing to buttress that area of Bill Belichick's roster. No big-money free-agent additions made. No trades. No draft picks expended there.

Safe to say, it seems, the Patriots must like what they have there.

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What do they have there? After Judon, the outside linebacker depth chart includes Josh Uche, Ronnie Perkins, Anfernee Jennings and undrafted rookie DaMarcus Mitchell.

Perkins and Jennings did not play last season. Perkins was a weekly healthy scratch after being taken at the end of the third round in 2021. Jennings dealt with injury and never saw action in his second season after being made a third-round pick in 2020.

Uche appears to be in line to play a key role opposite Judon as the pass-rusher out of Michigan embarks on Year 3. Expected to take a "Year 2 leap" last season, Uche was quiet. He played just 241 defensive snaps in 12 games, including only six in the playoff loss to Buffalo.

He's dealt with injuries that have limited his availability early in his career; he didn't play until Week 8 as a rookie, tallying 179 snaps total the rest of the way that year. But the Patriots are still waiting to see their 2020 second-round investment on Uche pay off.

If Bill Belichick's club is going to continue to roll with a scheme that often employs two outside linebackers -- they'll also use a bigger-bodied edge like Deatrich Wise opposite Judon for stretches -- Uche makes the most sense as the top option.

The Patriots aren't big on divulging assistant coach titles this offseason, but Steve Belichick has coached outside linebackers the last two seasons in New England, and he made it sound as though Uche was poised to play a real role.

“I see him as part of the... blueprint," Steve Belichick said. "I see him being an important piece to the puzzle for us going forward. There’s a lot of factors to it besides what he’s going to do.

"We have to see what everybody else does and work the pieces around from there. I see Josh being a big part of this defense. We’ll see how the competition plays out. Josh is another guy who’s doing everything right, who’s putting a lot of hard work in, setting up as well as he could to help us out on the field once we get to camp. It’s all just a building process. He’s done everything right so far.”

Belichick also credited Perkins for sticking around New England and working toward making some improvements in his second year as a pro.

"All that really matters at the end of the day is what happens when we put the pads on," Belichick said. "But hey, he’s done everything right to this point to set himself up to do well once we get to training camp, and the preseason and regular season."

Neither player has much of a track record right now. But the Patriots are going to need one or both to step up to provide some pass-rushing juice opposite Judon this coming season. It's early, but it sounds like Uche could get the first crack at the bulk of the work available.

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