One of the few areas of frustration for the Philadelphia Eagles' 2025 defense has been finding consistent contributions at the edge rusher position. Philly was so desperate to boost the unit that the franchise even talked Brandon Graham out of retirement. This made it as clear as possible that GM Howie Roseman was not happy with what he had in the room. It was also an especially bad look for veteran pass rusher Josh Uche, who, early in the season, appeared to be a potential surprise contributor.
Uche's 2025 season started out in solid fashion with the defender registering three quarterback hits, a sack, and two tackles for loss, to go along with a pass defense. However, as the season wore on, the lack of results for Uche started to mount, forcing the Eagles to look for superior options. The end result was Uche spending the last three weeks of the season as an inactive on game day and not playing a single defensive snap since Week 9.
It is clear the edge rusher has lost the trust of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and is on his way out of Philly. Uche signed a one-year deal worth $1.92 million, making it easy for the Eagles to move on at the end of the season. At this point, Uche has been reduced to emergency injury depth, with the coaching staff no longer believing he has anything left to offer.
Eagles Edge Rusher Josh Uche Clearly on His Way Out After Mid-Season Benching
For the Eagles, it made sense to take a shot at finding surprise pass-rushing production considering the team's current cap situation. Uche did have one truly great season totaling 11.5 sacks with the New England Patriots in 2022, adding in two forced fumbles in what was a great season. One that now appears to have been an outlier in what is an otherwise underwhelming career.
Philadelphia needs to turn the page and look to bring in a more consistent rotational edge rushing option at the end of the season. Considering the fact that both Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are under contract for the 2026 season, there should be no shortage of talented edge rushers looking at Philly with a healthy level of interest.
Uche playing with this incredibly talented duo and offering such limited production is telling of where the defender is in his career and why the Eagles are ready to turn the page. The only reason Uche hasn't already become a roster cut is likely due to Philly wanting the potential wildcard option if injuries were to strike ahead of or during a potential playoff run.
Uche is simply a depth piece at this point, and he isn't going to garner any serious consideration as a potential reunion option at the end of the 2025 season.