Tag: Uchenna Nwosu contract

Is this Uchenna Nwosu’s last chance to stick with Seahawks?

Is this Uchenna Nwosu’s last chance to stick with Seahawks?

The Seattle Seahawks activated EDGE Uchenna Nwosu off IR on Thursday. Nwosu will play against the Arizona Cardinals in Sunday’s Week 14 NFC West showdown. This upcoming stint may represent his last opportunity to prove he should stick with the Seahawks for the foreseeable future.

It’s been a difficult period for Nwosu since recording a career-high 9.5 sacks in 2022. The former USC standout missed more than half of the 2023 campaign due to a pectoral injury suffered in Week 7. The 2024 season has welcomed more challenges.

Nwosu suffered an MCL sprain in the preseason finale that kept him sidelined for Seattle’s opening four regular-season contests. The Seahawks never placed him on IR and he healed slightly slower than expected. Nwosu made his 2024 debut against the New York Giants in Week 5, but that only lasted 20 snaps. He exited with a thigh injury and was placed on IR. He’s been absent since.

Nwosu hasn’t been consistently healthy since 2022. Since then, the Seahawks have wisely invested premium resources into the EDGE position, signing Dre’Mont Jones to a three-year contract worth more than $51 million, and drafting Boye Mafe and Derick Hall with back-to-back second round picks in 2022 and 2023. All three of those rushers have produced in Nwosu’s absence.

Nwosu is technically signed through 2026, but he doesn’t possess any guaranteed money remaining on his contract moving forward. General manager John Schneider could release Nwosu from his deal in the offseason and save nearly $15 million versus the 2025 cap if he designates the transaction as a post-June move, according to OverTheCap. The dead-cap charge would be a manageable $6.5 million. If the Seahawks wanted the funds immediately, a pre-June move would penalize them $13 million in dead money while creating $8.4 million in immediate financial flexibility.

The Seahawks are currently scheduled to be $6 million over the 2025 cap. That qualifies as the third-worst cap situation of any team in the league heading into the offseason. It’s a minimal amount that Schneider should easily navigate, but it makes creating funds via releasing players a borderline necessity.

Hall and Mafe are long-term pieces on affordable rookie contracts. Jones is signed through just next season and is an alternative potential cap casualty, buy why would the Seahawks choose to release Jones over Nwosu when the former has been healthy and productive? If Nwosu wants to make this a difficult decision for Schneider, he needs to stay available and impactful down the stretch of the 2024 campaign.

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Uchenna Nwosu, Seahawks agree to 3-year contract extension

Nwosu was set to have a cap number of $13,010,000 this year.

The Seattle Seahawks have agreed to a three-year contract extension with their underrated top outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu. His new deal includes $32 million in guaranteed money and he can reach up to $59 million in total earnings if he reaches all his incentives.

It’s a well earned deal for Nwosu, as the 26 year old edge was Seattle’s most-consistent defender last season from start to finish. He was also arguably their only reliable starter for the team’s defensive front seven.

We don’t have year-by-year numbers as of yet. However, we do know Nwosu was set to have a cap number of $13,010,000 this year.

That will obviously be much lower on his new deal. According to Over the Cap, the Seahawks can save $5,336,000 in cap space by extending Nwosu’s contract.

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