When the Seattle Seahawks and Uchenna Nwosu agreed to three-year, $45M contract extension on the eve of training camp in 2023, it represented hope for stability on the edge of the defense for the Hawks that had been lacking for several years.
Unfortunately, Nwosu’s 23 season ended less than three months later when he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in a Week 6 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and injury that landed him on injured reserve and brought his 2023 campaign to a screeching halt. Then came an injury-shortened 2024 season that saw Nwosu take the field for just six games for the second season in a row.
All of a sudden the once promising edge rusher in his prime had logged just 473 defensive snaps while appearing in a dozen games while recording just three sacks and 30 tackles while being paid more than $26M in the 19 months since signing his contract extension. All of that combined to prompt significant discussion among fans about the potential to move on from Nwosu for cap reasons during the offseason.
Of course, the obstacle in the way of the Hawks moving on from Nwosu was the fact that $6M of his $14.48M base salary would vest into a full guarantee on the fifth day after the Super Bowl in 2025, and, of course, the fifth day after the Super Bowl is tomorrow. Thus, with deadlines spurning action and the Seahawks one of the teams needing to free up the most cap space ahead of the start of the new league year on March 12, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN a decision has been made.
Tomorrow was the original trigger date in which Uchenna Nwosu’s $6M injury guarantee for 2025 would vest into a full guarantee, per a copy of his contract. It sounds like that date may have been pushed back, from what I’m hearing, so it appears nothing is imminent on that front. https://t.co/BKnrEFRi4l
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) February 13, 2025
And, per Henderson, the decision that has been made is to wait a little bit longer before making a decision. No definitive date has been provided as of publication, but it appears as though who have clamored for the Seahawks to move on from Nwosu won’t see that happen just yet.
Assuming the report is correct, once the amended contract is filed with the league office and approved, the details of a new vesting date will likely become known.
