The Kansas City Chiefs were active ahead of the trade deadline last season, trying their best to add pieces to the team that could help them pull off the coveted three-peat. Unfortunately, not every move ended up being a good one, as Joshua Uche did next to nothing after the Chiefs acquired him.

Kansas City traded a sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft for Uche so they didn’t give up much but still, it was a baffling move considering what happened. Uche went on to appear in just six games and was a healthy scratch throughout the playoffs.

So, what happened? Why wasn’t Uche used in the Chiefs’ pass-rush or at all? Andy Reid finally spoke about why the Uche trade didn’t pan out the way Kansas City was hoping it would.

“Probably wasn’t a great fit for what we do. And we got him late and we were trying to work him in. That’s a tougher deal to do. Would have liked to see him throughout training camp so we have time to get him in there and go. By the time we got him, we were rolling. I’m not sure the fit was exactly what our defense (needed). …He’s a great kid.”

Andy Reid says Joshua Uche “wasn’t a great fit” for Chiefs

With Charles Omenihu’s return from injury and former first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah improving throughout the year, it makes sense that Uche wasn’t as needed. The frustrating part is why the Chiefs even made this move in the first place. They knew Omenihu was going to come back (or at least hoped he would) and clearly they belived in Anudike-Uzomah considering they spent a first-round pick on him.

Reid seemed to believe that had K.C. had an entire offseason with Uche, things would have worked out better. Instead, by the time he arrived to the back-to-back defending champs, the need for him wasn’t as strong and he eventually got phased out. Uche signed with the Eagles in the offseason so any chance of righting the ship is officially off the table.

It’s a bummer that the Chiefs had to give up a draft pick for a guy who went on to do so little for them but lesson learned. Sometimes trades don’t work out. Such is life in sports.