KC Chiefs’ Joshua Uche looks to bring the heat in first game with his new team

Joshua Uche had played in every game this season for New England Patriots, starting one and playing more than half the defensive snaps in another.

So when he was told he wouldn’t play in the team’s most recent game, he figured the buzz about being on the trading block were true.

“That was kind of a tell-tale sign that something was up,” Uche said.

The next morning, news spread that Uche had been dealt to Kansas City. And his thoughts immediately turned to how his competitive life was about to change.

From a New England team that won last weekend and improved to 2-6, to the two-time defending Super Bowl champion with a 7-0 record and seeking to bolster an already strong defense.

“Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Andy Reid, Travis Kelce — I’m playing with some of the greatest guys in the league right now,” Uche said. “Just trying to get where I fit in.”

Uche plugs into the defensive end rotation that has played short-handed for the past couple of weeks. Mike Danna has missed the past two games and three overall this season with injuries, although he returned to practice on Thursday ahead of the Chiefs’ Monday Night Football Game at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Also expected back from injury at some point this season is defensive end Charles Omenihu, who recorded seven sacks in 11 games last season. He has been sidelined this season with a torn ACL, suffered in last season’s AFC Championship Game.

In last weekend’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chiefs played three ends — George Karlaftis, Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Malik Herring. They performed well and played a big role in the game’s most important sequence, a goal-line stand at the end of the third quarter that helped the Chiefs protect a small lead.

But general manager Brett Veach saw a good deal, with the Chiefs sending the Patriots a 2026 sixth-round pick in exchange for a pass-rush specialist with 20 1/2 career sacks in his five seasons with New England, including 11 1/2 in 2022.

He was asked what he brings to Kansas City, where he’ll wear the same No. 55 jersey number he had in New England.

“Pressure,” Uche said. “They want me to do what I do best.”

Uche, 26, has two sacks this season and should have a chance to add more against the Bucs.

“I think there’s a good chance,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said when asked if Uche would play Monday.

The Chiefs don’t hesitate playing newcomers. Against the Raiders, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins logged 23 snaps less than a week after he was acquired in a trade with the Tennessee Titans.

Uche, a second-round pick in the 2020 draft (No. 60 overall) from Michigan, faced the Chiefs last season. Kansas City prevailed by 10 in Foxborough, Mass.

The teams were headed in different directions, then as now.

“Being in New England for five years,” he said, “I didn’t have the results and outcomes I wanted, but I loved the coaches there and I was doing my best to help keep the ship afloat.”

Now, he’ll line up with players like Jones and Karlaftis and others looking to steer the Chiefs toward more postseason success.

“When I heard I was getting traded here I was excited,” Uche said. “I feel like this scheme, this team, this organization is definitely going to help maximize my potential.”