Josh Uche is not returning to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2026.
The free agent pass rusher is instead headed to the Miami Dolphins on a one-year contract, according to his agents (via NFL insider Adam Schefter).
The Eagles originally signed Uche in free agency around this time last offseason. He was brought in to compete for a role in their pass rush rotation. Uche saw rotational snaps in each of the Eagles’ first eight games in 2025, producing one sack and three quarterback hits.
But then Uche didn’t play a single defensive snap the rest of the season, save for when the Eagles rested their starters in Week 18. The team trading for Jaelan Phillips and re-signing Brandon Graham left him without a role.
It’s a little weird that Uche fell out of favor since he seemed to be a solid contributor. Funny enough, Pro Football Focus actually had him as the Eagles’ highest-graded defender on the team last year. While that evaluation is obviously ridiculous, it does speak to him being more useful than not at all. But Vic Fangio clearly wasn’t eager to play him and the Eagles’ defensive coordinator has more than earned the benefit of the doubt.
Uche leaves Philly at a time when the Eagles are in need of pass rushers. The Birds lost Jaelan Phillips in free agency, which means Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith are the only two credible edge rushers on the roster right now. The Eagles are rumored to be interested in Jonathan Greenard and Maxx Crosby, so, we’ll so if they’re able to add more help through a trade or other means.
It’ll be interesting to see if Uche finds success in Miami or if he falls out of favor there as well.
SIDE NOTE: For those #JerseyNumberAnalytics fans out there, Uche’s departure means the Eagles will potentially have a player newly wearing the No. 0 jersey for the fourth time in four seasons.
2023 — D’Andre Swift
2024 — Bryce Huff
2025 — Josh Uche
2026 — ?
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