Morning Sports Update
Uche said there is “mutual” interest in working out a deal to remain in New England.
Josh Uche wants to stay with the Patriots: Patriots pass rusher Josh Uche is in the final year of his rookie contract. As he tries to see beyond the current difficult season New England is mired in, Uche doesn’t want to leave.
Speaking to MassLive’s Karen Guregian, he acknowledged that he wants to keep playing alongside fellow 2020 draft picks (he was selected by the Patriots in the second round that year).
“To finish out my career with the guys I started would be great,” he told Guregian. “I would like to see it through. I was in a similar situation at Michigan. Things were kind of difficult. In college, you can transfer and leave, but that’s not how I was raised.
“I want to finish something that I started,” he said. That’s just how I am.”
With the team struggling, the Patriots considered selling at the trade deadline (which passed on Oct. 31). Uche was one of several names mentioned in potential deals, but nothing materialized.
“The conversation I had was a mutual thing where the organization wanted me here, and of course, I wanted to finish my career where I started,” Uche explained. “But things like that are out of my control. There’s a situation where if a deal or something was enticing [to the team], I would have gotten moved.”
Having stayed put, Uche admitted that he could still end up departing in the offseason, even as he noted that the target of agreeing to a new deal with the Patriots was of “mutual” interest between team and player.
“The organization would love me to be here, and I would love to be here as well,” he said to Guregian. “There’s just some fine-tuning and some things and details that need to be worked out to make it a possibility. But right now, it’s hard to say [if a new contract will get done] and everything gets smoothed out.”
Trivia: Against what quarterback did Josh Uche record his first career NFL sack?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: This quarterback, a Heisman Trophy winner in college, was selected 32nd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Scores and schedule:
The Bruins defeated the Sabres 5-2 on Tuesday. Five different Bruins scored in the game, with David Pastrnak also notching a pair of assists.
Tonight, the Celtics face the 76ers in Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
The Cannons are back in Boston: After joining the Premier Lacrosse League in 2020, the Cannons became part of the league’s unique setup as a roaming team without a fixed home city. Now, the PLL is reinstalling the Cannons back in Boston (where they were first founded in 2001).
On this day: In 1973, Bobby Orr set a then-NHL record for points by a defenseman in a single game, totaling seven in a 10-2 Bruins win over the Rangers.
Orr finished the night with three goals and four assists in front of cheering Boston Garden crowd.
Daily highlight: Samson Johnson threw it down for UConn in a win over Mississippi Valley State.
Trivia answer: Lamar Jackson
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