Getty The Seahawks have signed Uchenna Nwosu.
The Seattle Seahawks have signed a new pass-rushing specialist.
As the Seahawks continue to make moves as they head into a new era without holdovers Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, they continue to do so with young building blocks. As Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on Wednesday, March 16, Seattle has signed defensive end Uchenna Nwosu to a two-year, $20 million deal. Nwosu spent the past three seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Former Chargers linebacker Uchenna Nwosu has agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal, including $10.5 million guaranteed with the Seattle Seahawks, his agents
@DrewJRosenhaus and @RyanMatha tell ESPN,” says Schefter.
Nwosu Figures to Play Big Role for Seahawks
Nwosu played a bit role for the Chargers during his first two seasons before emerging as a starter during the 2021 season. The 25-year-old posted a career-high five sacks to go along with 40 tackles while starting 15 games.
According to Pro Football Focus, the pass-rushing specialist posted a 68.5 pass-rushing grade, ranking 48th among all edge rushers during the 2021 season. In a smaller role during the 2020 season, Nwosu posted a 73.2 defensive grade, ranking 23rd among all edge rushers in the league.
The former second-round draft selection is expected to play a major role for a Seahawks defense that struggled in the pass-rushing department last season. Seattle ranked 29th in sacks per dropback and in the bottom half in pressure rate and pass rush win rate. The Seahawks also finished with just 34 sacks, tied for the 10th-fewest in the NFL in 2021.
In his end of the season press conference, head coach Pete Carroll spoke of how much of an issue it’s been that the Seahawks weren’t able to generate a pass rush in 2021.
“We need to improve our pass rush, you know? That’s an area that we need to get better,” said Carroll. “You saw how dynamic it is when you get going like we did [in Week 18]. But we didn’t have that consistency and that’s an important part of it. So many things feed off of that. It’s the disruption of the quarterback that leads to all the issues, you know, on the positive side for the defense and so we gotta—whatever we can do—we have to work there. So that’s one of the focal points for me.”
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Wilson ‘Made It Clear’ He Wanted Change
As Wilson’s trade to the Denver Broncos became official on Wednesday, the Seahawks released a statement regarding the trade.
According to Seahawks chairwoman Jody Allen, Wilson desired “doing something different.”
“This has always been a challenging time of year where we have consistently maintained a competitive approach to getting better as a team,” Carroll said in a statement. “As Jody stated, Russ’ desire in doing something different afforded the organization an opportunity to compete in multiple ways. He has always been the ultimate competitor whose leadership and consistency helped shape our culture. Our franchise has won a lot of games and we will always be grateful for the exciting moments and incredible records.”
On the other hand, Wilson responded to the Seahawks’ claims and said the decision was “mutual” regarding both sides moving in a different direction.