Bill Belichick is a human football encyclopedia. This was evident when he gave reporters a history lesson on the evolution of long snappersdo a trip to the Jim Brown statue to raise awareness among its players of the greats of yesteryear or summarizes the evolution of the forward pass under Curly Lambeau and Don Hutson. But during his illustrious coaching career, Belichick was only able to provide a few glimpses of his infinite wealth of knowledge. This season, as a member of the media, he has nothing but time – and he’s not afraid to put his old team in the firing line.

Throughout his various media appearances, the eight-time Super Bowl champion coach did not hesitate to criticize the actions of the New England Patriots. With their season almost over, the team opted to trade linebacker Josh Uche for Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2026. It’s a move that seems to make perfect sense for a team looking to accumulate as much draft capital as possible. Belichick, however, saw things differently.

During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Belichick expressed his dissatisfaction with the trade.

“(Kansas City) didn’t give up anything in my mind,” Belichick said. “Look, Josh Uche is a very good rusher. He hasn’t had the opportunity to rush much this year for the Patriots because they’ve been behind a lot. The situation is not good.”

Belichick might have a soft spot for Uche considering he selected the Michigan product in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Yet others expressed a similar sentiment regarding the compensation New England received for the young passer.

Uche is just two years removed from an 11.5 sack campaign, but the team’s negative play script this season has caused the pass rush specialist to see a significant reduction in playing time. With opposing offenses gagging New England on the field this season, Uche has played fewer than 35 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in five of seven games.

“He had a big year two years ago,” Belichick said. “Now he had (Matthew) Judon on the other side of him, so it was two good passers. But he will have plenty of opportunities to make a run for it in Kansas City. I think it will really help them.

With the Chiefs much more likely to hold a lead, Uche is poised to receive plenty of passing opportunities under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Getting to the quarterback should also become easier. Opposing offenses must account for Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones in their protection schemes, which will create one-on-one matchups for Uche on the edge.

“He has surprising power for his size,” Belichick said. “He has excellent quickness and a good release. And it has some flexibility when it comes to coverage. So I think he’s a good addition for a team that needs another passer, which everyone does. Josh can do this. It will definitely help them.

In their first season without Belichick, the Patriots often appeared among the worst teams in the NFL. New England is ranked last in yards gained and No. 23 in yards allowed this season. They are currently on pace to finish with 104 penalties, according to football database. Under Belichick, the Patriots have only finished with more than 100 penalties once since at least the 2006 season.