Seahawks’ Uchenna Nwosu makes a statement in 3rd game back

After enduring three separate injuries that sidelined him for most of the past two seasons, it was fair to wonder whether Uchenna Nwosu could ever recapture the standout form he displayed during a career-best 2022 campaign.

The 28-year-old Nwosu just took a major step toward answering those doubts.

In just his third game back since returning from offseason knee surgery, Nwosu racked up 2.0 sacks, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits in the Seattle Seahawks’ 23-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night.

It was Nwosu’s first two-sack game since he contributed to Seattle’s 11-sack onslaught against the New York Giants in Week 4 of 2023.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Nwosu said. “I’ve dealt with everything. But I kept my mind to the grind. I just stayed down and always told myself, you know, things could be worse. … I just kept preparing the way I usually did and attacked my rehab really hard, studied, leaned on my brothers.

“All of my brothers in the locker room kept staying positive with me, the trainers, everybody. It was a whole organizational effort to get me back on that field. I’m very appreciative and I take none of those moments for granted.”

After battling injuries over the last few seasons, @UchennaN_42 🇳🇬 is back looking like himself again 😤 pic.twitter.com/s6MBmkZBQh

— NFL Africa (@NFLAfrica) September 26, 2025

After signing with Seattle in 2022, Nwosu exploded for a career-best 9.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss that fall.

But since then, it’s been one injury after another.

Nwosu missed 11 games in 2023 with a season-ending torn pectoral muscle. He missed the first four games of 2024 with a sprained MCL. Then in his first game back last year, he suffered a quad strain that sidelined him for another seven games. He returned for the final five games of the season, but recorded just one sack and one tackle for loss over that stretch.

Nwosu underwent knee surgery this offseason, which left his status for the early part of this year in limbo.

But Nwosu made it back by Week 2. And after playing on a snap count in his first two games, he exploded for one of the better performances of his eight-year career on Thursday night.

“The thing that impressed me with him the most is that it never got to him mentally,” standout Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. “I see players go through injuries, especially back-to-back injuries like he had, and you can see it creep into people’s mental (health).

“But he’s always been a leader, even when he wasn’t on the field. And it’s nice to see him come out and have a game like this today.”

During training camp, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald praised Nwosu for his rehab work and said he’d beaten projected timelines throughout his recovery process.

Nwosu admitted it was a daily grind.

“I put in a lot of work this offseason,” Nwosu said. “Every single day, even when I didn’t want to, (it was) rehabbing, doing something, whether that was icing or NormaTec boots or red light therapy. Anything you could think of, I was doing it. I put a lot of time and effort into this, and I feel good.

“So it’s a blessing I’m able to come back early and play to the level I played today.”

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Rost: Interesting question emerging with Seahawks QB Darnold
• Observations from Seattle Seahawks’ last-second win over Cardinals
• Instant Reaction: Seattle Seahawks hold on to beat Cardinals
• Recap: Seattle Seahawks beat Cardinals 23-20 on last-second FG
• Seahawks Roster Moves: Rookie FB Robbie Ouzts placed on IR

Related

What makes Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba so hard to defendAfter Seahawks trade, 49ers respond with a big one of their ownSeahawks reunite with ‘Hard Knocks’ star amid several roster movesBrock: 3 things to like about Seahawks’ trade for Quenton NelsonWhere Quenton Nelson fits on Seahawks’ offensive lineSeahawks may have started arms race with NFC West-leading 49ers