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Brady Henderson, ESPN
RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks activated outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu from injured reserve on Thursday, clearing the way for the team’s top defender to return Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals from his second major injury of the season.
The first, Nwosu believes, was the result of “foul play.”
On the first series of the Seahawks’ final preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, Nwosu suffered a sprained MCL after right guard Wyatt Teller lunged for his left knee on a cut block. Nwosu had been penalized for roughing the passer a play earlier for a hit on Jameis Winston.
“I thought it was dirty, straight up,” Nwosu said of Teller’s block. “I didn’t like it. It’s preseason. We’ll be there like two series, but it’s football. I get it, it’s football at the end of the day, but it was definitely a dirty play.”
The Browns were called for an illegal block, although running back Jerome Ford, who confronted Nwosu high while Teller was already blocking him low, was announced as the culprit.
When asked by ESPN about the play in October, Nwosu chalked it up to being part of football and said he had to protect himself better next time. But on Thursday he had a very different attitude. Without mentioning anyone by name, he said he also would have considered Teller’s block a foul play if it had occurred in a regular-season game.
“I know you can cut,” he said. “But the way you cut, you can’t do it by going back into your own end zone, and that’s what he did to me, so that’s what messed it up.”
Nwosu missed the first four games while recovering from his sprained MCL. That was one of a series of injuries that have derailed his career since he joined Seattle in free agency in 2022 and broke out with a career-high 9.5 sacks that season to earn a three-year, $45 million extension. . Nwosu missed the final 11 games of 2023 due to a torn pectoral muscle. His return in Week 5 of this season from a sprained MCL was cut short after 20 snaps due to a left quadriceps injury.
“It’s been tough,” Nwosu said, noting that he had only dealt with minor injuries during his first five seasons before tearing his pectoral. “I feel like it’s really things that have been out of my control, especially with the knee injury that I had. And then one thing leads to another, so who knows. So I just rethought myself, I just trusted my process. and knowing that I know my career is going to be great and I’m still going to be the same player that I am, and I’m going to continue to believe in myself.”
General manager John Schneider previously described Nwosu’s quadriceps injury as a “pretty intense” strain, but Nwosu said Thursday that he was torn.
“Talking to the doctors, no surgery was necessary,” he said. “I’ve rehabbed myself and feel ready to go.”
Nwosu, 27, returned to practice last week. Now he returns to a resurgent defense that has taken the Seahawks to the top of the NFC West at 7-5 after three straight wins. He said he is preparing to handle a full workload Sunday in Arizona. He averaged more than 50 plays per game in 2022, but Seattle’s defensive front is much deeper this season than it was then.
“That’s the guy right there,” defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. “He’s a guy that’s hungry. He’s a real leader. He can also help guys who are on the edge. Having him back will be huge. I think we’re only going to get better.”
The same day he was activated off IR, Nwosu was announced as the Seahawks’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. He said his recent injuries have given him time to think about ways he can make a difference off the field.
“Although of course my mind is still on football, I always will be,” he stated. “But when you have that extra time, you can think about the things you want to do for the community. That’s just what I’ve been trying to use to distract myself a little bit, not think so much about the injuries and being depressed.” “For myself, I just use this time to give back to the community and make myself feel better.”
