The Seahawks will be without one of their top pass rushers for the rest of the season. While Pete Carroll said earlier today (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta) that Uchenna Nwosu suffered a pectoral strain and would miss time, a later update confirmed a long recovery timetable.
Nwosu will need season-ending surgery to repair the issue, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This news comes nearly three months after Nwosu signed a three-year, $45MM extension to stay in Seattle through 2026.
Last season rewarded the Seahawks for a midlevel investment on the edge; Nwsou posted 9.5 sacks and notched 26 quarterback hits. The Seahawks had given the ex-Joey Bosa Chargers sidekick a two-year, $19.1MM deal in free agency. Despite never finishing a season with more than five sacks in Los Angeles, Nwosu hit the ground running in Seattle, making a big difference in the team securing a wild-card berth despite the Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner departures.
Nwosu ended up passing on the chance to use this season as a platform for a 2024 free agency audition, opting to sign an early extension that locks him down throughout the mid-2020s. That now looks like a smart move. The Seahawks guaranteed Nwosu, 26, $16.6MM at signing, according to OverTheCap. Nwosu will see an additional $6MM guaranteed, with money moving from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee, in February 2024. That represents part of his 2025 salary ($14.48MM).
Although the Bolts chose Nwosu in the 2018 second round, they kept their Bosa-Melvin Ingram pair in place for much of the USC alum’s rookie contract. Ingram did not move on until 2021, and the Chargers bumped Nwosu into their starting lineup. Nwosu notched 17 QB hits that season, displaying some upside during the five-sack contract year. That was enough for the Seahawks, who were in the process of remodeling their defense to a 3-4 look under then-new DC Clint Hurtt.
Hurtt’s unit struggled in his first season, ranking 25th in points allowed. The Seahawks operated more aggressively this offseason, adding Dre’Mont Jones and bringing back Wagner to replace the departed Cody Barton. The team has also used second-round picks on edge players in each of the past two years, drafting Boye Mafe in 2022 and Derick Hall this year. This gave Seattle a rare four-second-rounder OLB corps. Both Mafe and Hall arrived via picks obtained in the Wilson trade, and each will become a more prominent figure in the wake of Nwosu’s injury.
This year, Hurtt’s defense ranks 12th in scoring and yards allowed; Mafe has taken a step forward, with his four sacks tied for the team lead. The team also rosters Darrell Taylor, a 2020 second-round pick who fared well last season (9.5 sacks). Taylor has only started one game this year, working in a rotational role behind Nwosu and Mafe, but should now have a chance to log more playing time in a pivotal stretch for his earning potential.
Another poor player evaluation by the Chargers. Just like Wes Welker.