Seahawks' Uchenna Nwosu says the quiet part out loud about Browns' Wyatt Teller
By Lee Vowell
Uchenna Nwosu has barely played for the Seattle Seahawks over the last calendar year. He tore a pec muscle in Week 7 of the 2023 season, missed the rest of the year, sprained his MCL this preseason, and upon his return in Week 5, suffered a thigh injury. This week, Nwosu was activated from injured reserve and is expected to play against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14.
When speaking with the media on Thursday, Nwosu acknowledged injuries happen to nearly every player at some point in their careers, but he took umbrage with Cleveland Browns right guard Wyatt Teller for the reason he was hurt in the preseason. He even called the play by Teller "dirty."
Nwosu is an exceedingly nice person, including being the Seahawks' nominee for the 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year award, and is not one to normally call out other players, especially opponents, for poor play. But when somebody potentially affects his livelihood, the edge rusher has an issue. He seemingly found Teller's play particularly offensive because it happened in a meaningless game.
Seahawks edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu calls out Browns right guard Wyatt Teller for "dirty" play
Nwosu said during his Thursday press conference, "I thought it was dirty, straight up. I didn't like it. It's preseason. We're going to be in there like two drives, but it's football. I get it, it's football at the end of the day, but it was definitely a dirty play."
The play also came after Nwosu had been flagged for roughing the passer on the previous snap. Teller may not have had any ill intent because of the penalty, but it's reasonable to question whether it was truly a coincidence.
On the play, Nwosu was attempting to go right and generate pressure on the quarterback when Teller literally dove at his left leg while Browns running back Jerome Ford tried to chip Nwosu high. The issue was that Nwosu was nearly by Teller when Teller dove, so the veteran right guard had to know there was a greater chance of Nwosu being hurt. Teller was facing his quarterback by the end of the play, which is a big reason why Nwosu thought the play was dirty.
Nwosu added, "I know you're allowed to cut (block), but the way you cut, you can't do it going back towards your own end zone, and that's what he did to me, so that's what made it dirty."
He is not wrong.
What is odd is that Nwosu waited until his return from injured reserve from the thigh injury to say the quiet part out loud: He thought Teller was the sole reason the edge rusher had to miss the first four games of the season. Prior to Thursday, Nwosu had said the play was something that just happens in football. It shouldn't be.
Coincidentally, Teller sprained his own MCL against the New York Giants in Week 3 and had to miss several games. There was no word on whether Nwosu took any satisfaction from Teller suffering the same kind of injury the Browns right guard put on the Seahawks edge rusher.