The Seattle Seahawks could very much use a healthy Uchenna Nwosu. The edge rusher has shown he can be good at pressuring quarterbacks and can set a hard edge against the run. His versatility is unique, but the team has gotten used to playing without him.
In fact, one might argue that when Nwosu is available to play, he negatively affects Seattle's edge rush rotation. Players get used to their roles, and if they lose snaps, they sometimes lose effectiveness.
Nwosu had offseason knee surgery that was supposed to be a simple clean-up procedure, but he isn't yet ready to practice, and he very well could miss the first part of the season. His bad break might be a positive thing for another Seahawks edge rusher on his third try to make an impact.
Tyreke Smith might finally have a chance to stick on the Seahawks roster
Seattle chose Tyreke Smith in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft. As a rookie, due to injury, he didn't play and was placed on injured reserve ahead of the season. He was waived at the start of the 2023 season and then signed to the practice squad. The Arizona Cardinals then took a chance on him and signed him to their active roster in December 2023, but waived him before the 2024 season.
He managed to play in three games combined between the Seahawks and Cardinals and made one tackle on 19 defensive snaps.
Still, Smith has good size at 6'3" and 255 pounds, and while he lacks elite quickness and strength, he has enough of each to make some kind of impact. If Nwosu can't practice and isn't ready for the season, Smith could finally make a run at the active roster. He has to be productive in training camp and preseason, though.
Even without Uchenna Nwosu, the Seahawks' top trio of edge rushers is set. The group is going to include DeMarcus Lawrence, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall. After that, a number of players will be battling for a potential fourth or fifth spot at edge rusher, and this is especially true as Seattle did not take an edge rusher in the 2025 NFL draft.
Smith will battle unproven guys like Jamie Sheriff and Jared Ivey for a roster spot. After spending some time in Mike Macdonald's system last year, Smith should be able to turn what he knows into preseason productivity. If he can do so, he should have a good chance at making the team, even if it's a short stay until Nwosu returns.