Bump: Seahawks vet could be difference maker for defense

After a promising start to his Seattle Seahawks career, injuries plagued veteran edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu for two seasons.

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Nwosu played just six games apiece during the 2023 and 2024 campaigns. But this past season, the Seahawks finally got a healthy version of the USC product again.

The 29-year-old Nwosu returned from offseason knee surgery in Week 2 and didn’t miss a game the rest of the way through their run to a Super Bowl title. He finished the regular season with seven sacks, seven tackles for loss and 46 total pressures in 16 games. And in the Super Bowl, he got to cap his bounce-back year with a moment he’ll never forget, returning a interception 45 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on Seattle’s 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots.

Nwosu’s year was a positive sign after two lost seasons, but former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus is hoping to see even more from the veteran in 2026.

“With the departure of Boye Mafe (in free agency), you need a guy like Uchenna Nwosu just to get back to who he is,” Bumpus said Friday during his Four Down Territory segment on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “He didn’t have a bad season at all, not at all. But I didn’t feel the impact that we’re used to having with Uchenna Nwosu. So I’m looking at Uchenna and just that defensive line, that box in general. If you can get a veteran like Uchenna and Dante (Fowler Jr.) to step it up one more notch and hold things down, I like where this defense is going to go.”

What Bumpus is hoping to see from Nwosu is something closer to his breakout first year with Seattle in 2022. In 17 games that season, Nwosu produced 12 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. His 61 pressures were also the 16th most of any defender league-wide, per Pro Football Focus.

“He has it in him,” Bumpus said. “… That’s the guy that we need. He’s 29 years old, he’s still young. I think he’s capable. If he has a good offseason (and) comes back healthy, I think Uchenna is primed for a good year. “

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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