Don’t expect the Seahawks pass rusher back any time soon.
Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu had a strong first season in Seattle, earning himself a contract extension heading into the 2023 season. Unfortunately, injuries have resulted in him playing just 12 out of the last 34 regular season games, and it’s far from certain whether he’ll be available for the start of this regular season.
Nwosu is currently on the “physically unable to perform” list (PUP) after offseason knee surgery. John Schneider indicated back in March that Nwosu’s timetable for recovery was uncertain and hinted at the possibility he might be on PUP, which proved to be a reality.
When asked about how close Nwosu is to getting back on the practice field, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald wasn’t exactly a vote of confidence on an imminent return.
“We’ll see,” Macdonald said in his media availability after Wednesday’s training camp practice. “We’re going to the season, probably throughout the rest of camp, and then we’ll go from there. We’ll just hold on to the timeline right now, but we’re not necessarily close right now.”
There’s only a month’s worth of practice and preseason, so “not necessarily close right now” does not sound like it bodes well for Nwosu’s readiness for the start of the regular season.
Nwosu missed most of 2023 with a torn pectoral muscle, then sprained his MCL on a chop block by Cleveland Browns guard Wyatt Teller in last year’s preseason finale. Upon return to action, Nwosu was just as quickly back on IR after a quad injury. Earlier this offseason, Nwosu restructured his contract and took a significant pay cut, although it comes with the caveat that cutting him would save virtually no money and incur another $11 million in dead money. A trade would save over $3.3 million and take on about $8.5 million in dead money, but hard to think about any trade while he’s injured.
It’s undoubtedly frustrating for fans to see Nwosu on the mend again, but it’s surely more frustrating for the 28-year-old Nwosu to deal with a rapid succession of injuries and surgeries. He was a highly productive Seahawk in 2022 and any chance of recapturing that form hasn’t materialized while he’s been sidelined.
Hopefully Macdonald is erring on the side of caution and Nwosu will be ready sooner rather than later.