One of the Seattle Seahawks’ most impactful defensive players is getting closer to returning to the field.
Head coach Mike Macdonald told reporters at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Monday that outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu will practice this week.
“We’re gonna put him out there at some point this week and see how it goes,” Macdonald said. “He should get some team activities here in the next couple days.”
Nwosu has yet to appear in a regular-season game after suffering a sprained MCL in the Seahawks’ preseason finale against Cleveland. The Seahawks elected to keep the standout pass-rusher off the injured reserve, which avoided a minimum absence of four games. Nwosu wouldn’t be eligible to return to game action until next week had he started the season on the IR.
If Nwosu is healthy enough to play next Monday night in Detroit, it will be his first on-field action in the regular season since he tore his ACL in Week 7 of last season.
The seventh-year pro led the team with 12 tackles for loss and 26 quarterback hits, and shared the team lead at 9 1/2 sacks during his first year in Seattle in 2022. He also forced three fumbles.
In 85 career games, he has 214 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 26 1/2 sacks and eight forced fumbles.
Abraham Lucas update
Macdonald shared that the team has an internal timeline on a return for starting right tackle Abraham Lucas, but he didn’t want to go into specifics publicly.
“We have kind of an in-house timeline on him and we’re working through it, but I’m not going to put a timeline on him right now,” Macdonald said.
Lucas dealt with a nagging knee injury throughout last season and appeared in just five games after being injured in the season opener. The Washington State alum and Everett native last played in Week 17 of last season and did not participate in offseason activities or training camp after undergoing offseason knee surgery in January.
With Lucas out, the Seahawks turned to veteran George Fant at right tackle. But Fant was placed on the IR on Saturday with a knee injury suffered in the season opener. He will miss at least the next three games. Third-string tackle Stone Forsythe has been the starter with both Lucas and Fant sidelined.
