The Seahawks continued clearing cap space this offseason with yet another cash-saving decision.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25761905/2168896393.jpg)
The Seattle Seahawks will be nearly unrecognizable when they take the field in 2025. The team has been overhauled this offseason with several longtime members of the organization traded or released. Even quarterback Geno Smith was shipped to the Raiders as Seahawks made a concerted effort to trim their salary cap. On Wednesday, Seattle made yet another cap-saving move.
Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu agreed to take a pay cut that drops his 2025 cap hit from $21 million to $11.8 million, according to Seahawks reporter Corbin K. Smith on X.
Interestingly, this isn’t a restructure of his deal. Nwosu has accepted a $7 million pay cut for the 2025 season, per Brian Nemhauser on X. In return he will get $6.98 million in guaranteed money and a $4 million signing bonus.
The Seahawks now have the second-most salary cap space in the NFL, behind only the New England Patriots. Over The Cap shows Seattle with $70 million in space, although that figure doesn’t include the team’s recent free agent signings.
Uchenna Nwosu is the latest Seahawks cap-savings victim
Nwosu was selected in the second round of the 2018 draft by the Los Angeles Chargers. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the team before signing with the Seahawks in 2022.
Nwosu enjoyed the best season of his career with Seattle in 2022. He racked up career highs in total tackles (66), sacks (9.5), forced fumbles (3), fumble recoveries (2) and passes defended (4). Following the season he signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Seahawks.
However, since inking his extension, Nwosu has struggled with injuries. He’s missed 22 games over the last two seasons. In 2023 he landed on IR with a season-ending pectoral injury. Then last year, an MCL sprain kept him sidelined for the first four games and a thigh injury in his season debut knocked him out seven more weeks.
The Seahawks entered the offseason ready for some major changes. After missing the playoffs in 2024, the team took stock of its highest-paid players. Then Seattle got rid of all of them with the exception of Leonard Williams and Nwosu.
Smith was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, DK Metcalf was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tyler Lockett was released, Dre’Mont Jones was cut and Nwosu had his pay slashed.
However, this isn’t just a simple fire sale. The Seahawks have been hard at work replacing their former players with free agents. The team signed Sam Darnold to a $100.5 million contract, they added Cooper Kupp on a three-year, $45 million deal and they snapped up DeMarcus Lawrence on a $42 million pact.
