FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Uche on deadline: For the second year in a row, pass rusher Joshua Uche is among the top Patriots players whom teams have inquired about as the NFL's trade deadline approaches, according to team and league sources.
Uche's modest salary, along with his ability to rush the passer, makes him an attractive option for teams that are exploring the possibility of adding players leading up to the Nov. 5 deadline.
Meanwhile, the Patriots, who are 1-6 entering Sunday's home game against the New York Jets (1 p.m. ET, CBS), are currently positioned to be among the group of teams willing to trade players for future assets, and that's why Uche knows his time in New England could be short-lived.
"Ultimately, I am an employee of the Patriots and if they think it's in their best interest to trade me, I know they'll do so. If there is an opportunity for them to build for the future, I know they're going to do so," said Uche, who is scheduled to become a free agent after the season.
"At this point in time, there are a lot of rumors, and a lot of information that [media] have access to before I do. So we'll see which one of those pieces of information come to materialize, but I know one thing for sure: Wherever I'm at I'm going to play some damn good football. At this point, it is what it is."
After not being traded at last year's deadline, when he appreciated how former coach Bill Belichick kept him up to date on other teams' interest, Uche became an unrestricted free agent when the 2023 concluded. He re-signed with the Patriots -- the team that drafted him in the second round out of Michigan in 2020 -- on a one-year, $3 million deal despite saying he had the opportunity to sign for more money elsewhere.
"I have no regrets," Uche said. "Taking the one-year deal, a team-friendly deal with different offers on the table, I felt like I wanted to speak to the organization -- to Coach Mayo, Mr. Kraft, to [Eliot] Wolf -- that 'I am trying my best to make it work here.' Which is why I am currently playing on this deal, as much as I feel like I am worth more than this deal. I'm playing because I wanted to show how much I respect people in this organization.
"Now while being here, I can't be oblivious to certain things of where I fit within the puzzle and the future of the team. So it's something now where I'm open to trying to maximize my capabilities -- being only 26 years old, healthy, and I still feel like I have a lot to give the game. I want to be able to put myself in the best position to get the most juice out of this game, to get the most juice out of myself before I hang up in the cleats."
The 6-foot-1, 240-pound Uche has played in all seven games this season, with one start. He has been on the field for 35% of the defensive snaps, although is coming off a season-low 11-snap game in a situational pass-rusher role. He's totaled 13 tackles and two sacks.
Off the field, he said being accepted into the Harvard Crossover Business School has helped him learn beyond the game itself.
As for football, he's prepared for whatever comes next -- in New England or elsewhere. He's totaled 20.5 sacks in his career, with 11.5 of those coming in the 2022 season.
"There is a role they put me in here -- I'm a pass rusher, right? -- and it's hard to get into those situations where I can thrive if everything is not clicking together to create those opportunities. I've done the best I can within the given opportunities, and I'm going to continue to do my best within my given opportunities," he said.
"I know that if I can somehow get into a situation where those things all come together, I want to see what I'm capable of doing. I know we saw a glimpse of it in 2022. And I just know I'm that player. I have a lot more to give, man. I have a lot more to give."
2. "Soft" fallout: How did coach Jerod Mayo's post-game comments about the Patriots being a "soft team across the board" -- which he later clarified as "playing soft" -- resonate through the locker room?
One common theme was that Mayo didn't say anything publicly that he didn't already tell the team; specifically, that his view of a tough team is one that runs the football, stops the run and covers kicks, and the Patriots currently aren't doing that.
At the same time, one noted how the remarks created an unnecessary distraction for the team -- a mistake from a rookie head coach. Most expressed the viewpoint that they planned to use it as motivation.
"I think it has to challenge you. This is a physical game and you never want that to be your identity at all," veteran tight end Hunter Henry said.
3. Baker on bench: Before the Patriots can trust rookie receiver Javon Baker on the field, the fourth-round pick from Central Florida needs to earn more trust off it. Baker had a "hiccup" in London last week when it came to following at least one part of the team's itinerary, according to a team source, and was inactive for a third straight game.
Baker, whose ability to make plays down the field was one of his top assets coming out of college, played six offensive snaps and five special-teams snaps in Week 2, and then didn't play on offense in Week 3 while contributing six snaps on special teams in Week 3. He hasn't seen the field since.
Tightening things up was a teamwide theme upon returning home from London.
4. Thornton's return: With Baker yet to break through, and fellow rookie Ja'Lynn Polk (second round) out this week with a concussion, the Patriots were trending toward having Kendrick Bourne, K.J. Osborn, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and Tyquan Thornton as their five available receivers Sunday.
It will mark a return for Thornton, the 2022 second-round pick who has been a healthy scratch the past two weeks but whom Mayo said would be on the game-day roster this week.
"Tyquan has a high football IQ and understands the spacing on the field," receivers coach Tyler Hughes said. "We talk in our room that when we run our routes, we need to do so to get other people open sometimes. I think Tyquan understands how our concepts fit together; he's a good team player in that regard."
Rookie quarterback Drake Maye referred to that concept last week as a "love-of-the-game route" -- a receiver going hard even if he knows the ball likely isn't coming his way.
5. Maye vs. Rodgers: Since 1990, Maye will become the fourth Patriots quarterback to make one of his first three career starts against the Jets -- joining Scott Zolak (1992), Matt Cassel (2008) and Mac Jones (2021). Part of what makes this one unique for Maye is that the quarterback on the other sideline is Aaron Rodgers, whom he looked up to as a youngster and waited to greet on the field after the Patriots-Jets game in Week 3. Rodgers later reached out to Maye on Instagram to let him know how much he appreciated it.
6. OL streak on line: By the end of the practice week, starting left tackle Vederian Lowe felt like his injured right ankle had responded well to practice, giving him a stronger chance to possibly return after missing last week.
If that happens, it would likely break the team's streak of having a different starting offensive line in each game this season. Lowe at left tackle, Michael Jordan at left guard, Ben Brown at center, Mike Onwenu at right guard and Demontrey Jacobs at right tackle would be the same starting line as Week 6 against the Texans.
But if Lowe doesn't play, it will likely be an eighth different starting line, with the instability affecting the team's run-blocking in recent weeks, according to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
7. Ekuale ailing: Veteran defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale has been thrust into a starting role this season after the Patriots lost Christian Barmore (blood clots) in the preseason, playing more than anyone at the position (74.5% of the defensive snaps). The expanded workload caught up to him Thursday when he strained his oblique at practice, according to a team source, and then was held out of Friday's practice.
Ekuale is questionable for Sunday's game, and if he can't go, the options to fill in next to Davon Godchaux include Jaquelin Roy, Eric Johnson II and Jeremiah Pharms Jr.
8. They said it: "We saw his toughness and him being able to hang in dirty pockets on tape; that's one of the very first things I looked for at [North] Carolina so I knew he was capable of that. But until you see it in an NFL game -- you've got to see it and we've seen it." -- Patriots QBs coach T.C. McCartney, on Maye
9. Kraft's approach: Despite a six-game losing streak, owner Robert Kraft struck a patient tone last week in London as it relates to Mayo and some of his and the team's growing pains.
"Everything doesn't happen as fast as I would like," Kraft said at a fan event the night before the team's 32-16 loss to the Jaguars. "Little things make a difference. We had to change everything [from 2023]. I think they are making good progress and I love the chemistry in the locker room."
10. Did you know?: If the Patriots lose to the Jets on Sunday to drop to 0-3 in AFC East play, it would mark the first time since 1994 that they lost their first three division games in a season.