Belichick: Josh Uche needs to practice more before seeing the game field

This summer, it was noteworthy that rookie linebacker Josh Uche was playing all over the field. The Patriots second-round pick looked like he had the versatility to help the defense at inside and outside linebacker. For a while, it looked like Uche was on track to play right away for the Patriots.

Instead, it’s been more of a slow buildup for the 22-year-old. Entering Week 3, Uche still hasn’t made his NFL debut. He was a healthy scratch in Week 1 and then missed last [...]

This summer, it was noteworthy that rookie linebacker Josh Uche was playing all over the field. The Patriots second-round pick looked like he had the versatility to help the defense at inside and outside linebacker. For a while, it looked like Uche was on track to play right away for the Patriots.

Instead, it’s been more of a slow buildup for the 22-year-old. Entering Week 3, Uche still hasn’t made his NFL debut. He was a healthy scratch in Week 1 and then missed last weekend’s game with an ankle injury.

One take away from the Patriots loss in Seattle was that they could use more speed at linebacker. Uche seems to fit that bill. On Wednesday, Bill Belichick said the rookie needs to get back to practice field and put together some consistency.

"Well, we'll see what he's able to do when he's able to participate fully on the field over a consistent period of time," Belichick said. "Josh is a versatile player. He can do a number of things for our defense, as I'm sure you reported on in training camp. So, we'll just see how all that comes together when he's able to string some days together in game-plan situations.

"It’s a little different than training camp because it's so game-plan specific but, we’ll work with him when that happens and he's willing to work hard. He's a hard working kid. He's smart and he’s very competitive guy. He’s willing to work with whatever we want to do."

With no preseason games, OTAs or minicamp, all rookies are behind right now. Safety Kyle Dugger leads rookies on defense with 45 snaps played, but that's just 36% of the defensive play calls. Rookie linebacker Anfernee Jennings has played just 11 snaps in two games.

We’ll see if the Patriots get the rookies involved more as the season goes on.

mdaniels@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ