The Seahawks placed rush end/outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu on the Physically Unable to Perform list, the team announced Thursday.
The news comes with veterans due to report Tuesday and the Seahawks beginning training camp Wednesday.
The move is not a surprise as Nwosu did not take part in on-field drills during the offseason program as he continued to recover from surgery after the season to repair a knee injury he first suffered in a preseason game against Cleveland last August.
Players can be activated off the PUP list at any time during training camp, so the move does not necessarily yet indicate any concern about his availability for the season.
But it does indicate he may still need some more recovery time before beginning practice.
If Nwosu were to remain on the PUP list once the season begins then he would have to sit out four games.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider referred to Nwosu’s surgery as “nothing major, but he had to get some stuff cleaned up,’’ when asked about it earlier this year.
Nwosu had 9.5 sacks in his first season as a Seahawk in 2022 after signing as a free agent and then received a three-year, $45 million extension in July 2023.
But he has since battled a slew of injuries and has played just six games each of the past two seasons.
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After missing the first four games of the 2024 season with the knee injury, he returned and then suffered a thigh injury that caused him to miss seven games before he came back to play in the final five games.
He had one sack, five quarterback hits and 14 tackles in six games last season. But he is expected to have a significant role in the team’s pass-rush rotation this year once fully healthy.
In March, the 28-year-old Nwosu agreed to a new two-year contract worth up to $19.5 million that included a $6.99 million pay cut that lowered his cap hit from $21.2 million to $11.8 million, giving the Seahawks an additional $9.4 million in cap space for 2025.
In return for the pay cut, as first reported by OverTheCap.com, Nwosu received $6.98 million in guarantees, consisting of a $4 million signing bonus and a $2.98 million base salary.
Nwosu had been due a base salary of $14.48 million for 2025 as part of a three-year contract he signed in 2023 before agreeing to the restructured contract.
The deal includes no guaranteed money for the 2026 season, indicating that the two sides are likely to be back at the negotiating table following this season.
The Seahawks earlier this week placed six rookies on the Non-Football Injury list, which works similarly to the PUP list in that players can come off of it at any time. Four players were then activated Wednesday after passing physicals — receivers Tyrone Broden and Montorie Foster as well as linebacker D’Eryk Jackson and cornerback Isas Waxter.
Two rookies remain on the NFI — defensive end Rylie Mills, a fifth-round pick out of Notre Dame who is recovering from an ACL injury suffered last December, and cornerback Zy Alexander.
Rookies reported Tuesday and are taking part in meetings, conditioning and light on-field workouts this week.
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Times. He provides daily coverage of the team throughout the year.