Seahawks Activate Uchenna Nwosu From IR
As they vie for their first NFC West title since 2020, the Seahawks will have some more help in a crucial division matchup. They are activating Uchenna Nwosu ahead of Sunday’s Cardinals rematch, ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson notes.
Nwosu has missed almost all of this season, sustaining separate injuries that have required weeks-long rehab odysseys. This comes after the former Chargers draftee missed much of the 2023 season. Nevertheless, the Seahawks will have him back after an quadriceps injury.
Nwosu said (via The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar) he sustained a torn quad that did not ultimately require surgery. While Seattle is in good shape for injury activations, still holding four after this move, it has continued to see roadblocks form for Nwosu.
The quad strain occurred 20 plays into Nwosu’s season debut — against the Giants in Week 5 — and it brought more rehab time. Nwosu had missed the Seahawks’ first four games due to an MCL injury sustained during the preseason. Nwosu entered the offseason after a pectoral injury shut him down in October 2023. He has missed 22 games since that point, effectively putting a promising career on pause.
This is Nwosu’s third season as a Seahawk. A productive 2022 slate (9.5 sacks, 26 quarterback hits, three forced fumbles) earned him a three-year, $45MM extension. The run of injuries has prevented Seattle from benefiting much from that deal. The former Joey Bosa Bolts sidekick has more to prove now, stepping into Mike Macdonald‘s defense. No guaranteed money remains on Nwosu’s deal for 2025. At the same time, the Seahawks are welcoming a productive edge defender back at a key juncture.
In terms of resources allocated, the Seahawks have a deep OLB corps. Homegrown second-rounders Boye Mafe and Derick Hall are on rookie deals, while Dre’Mont Jones — primarily an interior defensive lineman in Denver, before shifting to more of an EDGE role under Macdonald — is attached to a three-year, $51MM deal. Hall (six sacks) has elevated his play this season, doing so after Maye thrived during Nwosu’s 2023 absence. Mafe has five sacks this year. How the Seahawks use Nwosu after his batch of injuries will be interesting, but this activation certainly gives Macdonald more options as he attempts to secure the team its first division crown since the Russell Wilson years.
Nwosu, 28, is also a former second-round pick. He spent much of his Los Angeles stay as a rotational player behind Bosa and Melvin Ingram. The Bolts traded for Khalil Mack in 2022 and let Nwosu walk in free agency. Nwosu’s second Seahawks contract runs through the 2026 season, and while the team has not seen much from the seventh-year veteran since authorizing it, a return to form would give the Seahawks a bargain. Whether Nwosu can return to form will be a key storyline in a tightly bunched NFC West — a division that may well send only one team to the playoffs this season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/3/24
Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: RB Elijah Dotson
- Released: LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams, K Riley Patterson
Buffalo Bills
- Released: WR Deon Cain
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: RB Emani Bailey, TE Dominique Dafney, LB Thomas Incoom, WR T.J. Luther
- Released: S Alex Cook, WR Sam Pinckney
- Placed on IR: RB Dillon Johnson, TE Stephen Sullivan
Chicago Bears
- Signed: RB Demetric Felton, G Austen Pleasants
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Maurice Alexander
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Liam Anderson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LS Tucker Addington, P Matt Haack, QB John Wolford
- Released: OL Jerome Carvin, DE Joe Gaziano, CB Tyler Hall
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: RB John Kelly
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DT Jack Heflin, NT Kevin Strong, DB Charles Woods
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: RB Myles Gaskin
New England Patriots
- Signed: DE Truman Jones
- Released: G Michael Jordan
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: S Millard Bradford, C Sincere Haynesworth
- Released: RB Jacob Kibodi
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: FB Khari Blasingame
- Released: WR John Ross
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: WR Ronnie Bell, RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: NT Quinton Bohanna, C Mike Novitsky
- Released: TE N’Keal Harry
With Trevor Lawrence currently in concussion protocol, the Jaguars have added some QB depth to the organization. John Wolford brings four games of starting experience to Jacksonville, all coming with the Rams between 2020 and 2022. The Wake Forest product went 2-2 in those appearances, tossing one touchdown vs. five interceptions. He’ll slide in behind Mac Jones and C.J. Beathard in the franchise’s QB pecking order.
The Eagles added a veteran fullback to their roster in Khari Blasingame. The 28-year-old has appeared in 66 games since entering the league in 2019, collecting 131 yards from scrimmage on 24 carries. The Eagles recently lost part-time fullback Ben VanSumeren for the season, opening a role for a handful of blocking snaps per game.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/2/24
Monday’s minor transactions:
Atlanta Falcons
- Activated from IR: DT Ruke Orhorhoro
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed to active roster: LB Shaka Heyward
- Waived: WR Trenton Irwin
Cleveland Browns
- Signed to active roster: DT Jowon Briggs
- Elevated: WR Kadarius Toney, WR Michael Woods
- Waived: QB Bailey Zappe
Denver Broncos
- Elevated: G Nick Gargiulo
New York Jets
- Signed to active roster: RB Kene Nwangwu
- Waived: RB Israel Abanikanda
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: WR Parris Campbell
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: WR Laviska Shenault Jr.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: P Trenton Gill
Washington Commanders
- Activated from reserve/suspended list: CB Kevon Seymour
- Signed to active roster: K Zane Gonzalez
The Falcons get the second-round rookie, Orhorhoro, back from injured reserve for the closing stretch of the season. The Clemson-product has seen minimal time in his first NFL season, rotating in for only four games so far, but Atlanta will take whatever help it can get on a defense that is dead-last in the league with only 15 sacks on the year.
Zappe was signed off the Patriots’ practice squad following Deshaun Watson‘s placement on IR. Jameis Winston has performed admirably in relief of Watson, and the team must have confidence in second-year backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson behind him.
Shenault continues to struggle to find a place on an NFL offense, but he did carve out a role as a strong kick returner in Seattle this year. That added ability may help him find another roster spot soon.
Gill is the second punter the Buccaneers have waived this year. Gill’s yards per punt average of 43.3 currently ranks for 33rd in the NFL.
Seymour has served the league’s six-game suspension for violating its performance-enhancing drugs policy and is now able to return to the field.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/30/24
Saturday’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad elevations:
Atlanta Falcons
- Elevated: K Riley Patterson, LB Josh Woods
Baltimore Ravens
- Elevated: LB William Kwenkeu, DE Chris Wormley
- Placed on IR: TE Charlie Kolar (story), CB Arthur Maulet
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from reserve/PUP: OLB Amaré Barno
- Elevated: WR Dan Chisena, TE Stephen Sullivan
- Waived: OLB Thomas Incoom
Cleveland Browns
- Signed to active roster: TE Blake Whiteheart
- Placed on IR: TE Geoff Swaim
Houston Texans
- Elevated: TE Irv Smith Jr., WR Jared Wayne
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed to active roster: G Atonio Mafi
- Elevated: G Mark Glowinski, WR Laquon Treadwell
- Waived: LB Liam Anderson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Elevated: WR Elijah Cooks
Minnesota Vikings
- Elevated: TE Nick Muse, CB Nahshon Wright
New England Patriots
- Elevated: LB Keshawn Banks, G Michael Jordan
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to active roster: G Kyle Hergel
- Elevated: WR Kevin Austin, WR Dante Pettis
- Waived: S Millard Bradford
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed to active roster: WR Parris Campbell
- Elevated: LB Ochaun Mathis, TE C.J. Uzomah
- Placed on IR: LB Ben VanSumeren (story)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed to active roster: CB Nick McCloud
- Elevated: LB Jalen Graham, T Sebastian Gutierrez
Seattle Seahawks
- Elevated: QB Jaren Hall, S Ty Okada
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Elevated: QB Michael Pratt
Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo is listed as questionable, but head coach Raheem Morris is confident he’ll play, calling Patterson an emergency option.
Speculation out of Baltimore was that Maulet wouldn’t require a second stint on injured reserve with his calf injury, but that intel appears to have been off. Maulet and Kolar could potentially make a return in time for the postseason, but they’ll miss four games before they do.
VanSumeren served double-duty as a fullback and linebacker. With his placement on IR, Uzomah was targeted as a possibility to fill in at fullback.
Lions Place LB Malcolm Rodriguez, DL Mekhi Wingo On Season-Ending IR
The Lions have officially placed linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo on injured reserve, per a team announcement. Head coach Dan Campbell announced that both players were out for the rest of the season, according to team reporter Tim Twentyman.
Rodriguez tore his ACL during Thursday’s win over the Bears, while Wingo injured his knee but managed to finish the game. Further evaluation revealed that Wingo would need surgery, sidelining him for the remainder of the year. Those injuries were two of several suffered by the Lions on Thanksgiving, with Josh Paschal (knee) and Levi Onwuzurike (hamstring) considered day-to-day ahead of another Thursday night matchup in Week 14.
Wingo is a rookie who appeared in all 11 of the Lions’ games so far this season as a reserve defensive tackle with 176 snaps on defense and 44 on special teams. The sixth-round pick recorded nine tackles, but had yet to factor into the pass rush.
Detroit signed Jonah Williams off the Rams’ practice squad on Friday to shore up their defensive line depth. They also added Myles Adams from the Seahawks’ practice squad on Saturday. He appeared in three games for Seattle this year with a total of 36 snaps and three tackles. Both players will join Brodric Martin, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and Pat O’Connor in filling the snaps vacated by Wingo (plus Paschal and Onwuzurike if they can’t play on Thursday).
Trevor Nowaske will be the next man up at linebacker after Rodriguez’s injury. He has played just under 28% of the Lions’ total defensive snaps this season and will see an uptick in the Lions’ three-linebacker formations. Detroit also signed veteran linebacker Kwon Alexander from the Broncos’ practice squad to provide more depth. Additionally, the team has not ruled out a return from Derrick Barnes from his September knee injury that threatened to end his season.
The Lions had two open spots on the roster after today’s IR designations, so they also waived wide receiver Maurice Alexander to make room for all three new signings. He only appeared in one game this season with eight snaps exclusively on special teams.
Jets Place Tyron Smith On Injured Reserve
The Jets placed left tackle Tyron Smith on injured reserve, per a team announcement, sidelining him for at least four games.
Smith started the Jets’ first 10 games this season before suffering a neck injury in Week 10 that held him out of New York’s Week 11 loss to the Colts.
The Jets will now turn to No. 11 overall pick Olu Fashanu to start at left tackle, potentially for the rest of the year. Smith is on a one-year, $6.5MM deal with additional incentives that New York will not have to pay if he doesn’t return to the field. Even if Smith is healthy enough to be activated from injured reserve before the end of the regular season, the Jets may prefer to save some money and stick with Fashanu at left tackle to continue his development into next year.
Smith has played 592 snaps so far this season, so he will earn at least a few of his playing-time incentives. The Jets have played 676 offensive snaps in 11 games, so they are on track for just under 1,050 snaps on the season. Even if Smith doesn’t play again this year, he should hit his 38%, 44%, 50%, and 56% benchmarks to receive a total of $3.75MM. He won’t be able to earn all of his remaining incentives – which scale up to a 98% snap share, Jets playoff wins, and a Pro Bowl selection – but a late-season return could earn him some additional playing-time money.
The Jets activated offensive lineman Xavier Newman-Johnson off injured reserve to take Smith’s place on the 53-man roster. Newman-Johnson injured his neck in Week 7 after playing 11 snaps in relief of Alijah Vera-Tucker, who left the game with an ankle injury. He will return to a backup role along the interior of the offensive line.
The Jets also elevated running back and return specialist Kene Nwangwu from the practice squad for their Week 13 matchup with the Seahawks.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/28/24
Here are Thanksgiving’s practice squad moves around the league:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Sam Pinckney
Houston Texans
- Signed: FB Andrew Beck
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Myles Adams
- Released: DT Quinton Bohanna
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/24
Wednesday’s minor transactions, including some standard gameday practice squad elevations for the Thanksgiving Day slate:
Buffalo Bills
- Designated to return from IR: DT DeWayne Carter, T Tylan Grable
Carolina Panthers
- Designated to return from IR: S Nick Scott
Chicago Bears
- Elevated: S Adrian Colbert
Cleveland Browns
- Designated to return from IR: CB Myles Harden
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed to active roster: TE Princeton Fant
- Elevated: CB Andrew Booth, CB Kemon Hall
Denver Broncos
- Signed to active roster: LB Zach Cunningham
Detroit Lions
- Signed to active roster: WR Maurice Alexander, LB David Long
- Elevated: T Jamarco Jones
- Placed on IR: WR Kalif Raymond (story)
Houston Texans
- Signed to active roster: DT Tommy Togiai
Los Angeles Rams
- Designated to return from reserve/PUP: TE Tyler Higbee (story)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed to active roster: LS Jake McQuaide
- Waived: OLB Gabriel Murphy
New York Giants
- Signed to active roster: LB Tomon Fox
- Elevated: T Joshua Miles, CB Greg Stroman
- Placed on IR: DT Armon Watts
New York Jets
- Designated to return from IR: OL Xavier Newman-Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Designated to return from IR: DT Montravius Adams
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed to active roster: LB Patrick O’Connell
- Designated to return from IR: OLB Uchenna Nwosu (story)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Designated to return from IR: OLB Markees Watts
The Vikings’ release of Murphy is disappointing one for the organization for sure. The rookie pass rusher out of UCLA was not healthy enough to be on the active roster to start the season, but Minnesota liked him enough to dedicate one of their eight IR activations on him in August. He was activated yesterday but hit waivers today. If he clears the waivers, he’ll be available to sign to the team’s practice squad.
Adams has seen his biggest NFL roles during his time in Pittsburgh. Though he hasn’t gotten the same number of starts as he had in 2022 and 2023, he’s continued the same level of production. After missing the last four games, he’ll be looking to return to the field soon.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/27/24
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves:
Denver Broncos
- Signed: OL Calvin Throckmorton
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: TE Nick Muse
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Kyle Philips
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Cameron Erving
Seattle Seahawks
- Activated from practice squad IR: RB George Holani
The Vikings used an injury activation on Muse but waived him Tuesday. This will at least keep a player they prioritized via the activation around. A 2022 seventh-round pick, Muse played in 10 games as a Vikings rookie but just five over the past two seasons.
Also waived Tuesday, Throckmorton will end up sticking around as one of the many ex-Saints players and coaches on Sean Payton‘s second Broncos roster. The veteran backup O-lineman joins ex-New Orleans starter Kwon Alexander and 2023 Saints draftee A.T. Perry on Denver’s practice squad, with the likes of Wil Lutz, Adam Trautman, Malcolm Roach, Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Lucas Krull comprising the contingent of former Saints on the Broncos’ 53-man roster.
Seahawks Place G Anthony Bradford On IR, Designate T Stone Forsythe For Return
The Seahawks have officially designated Uchenna Nwosu for return from IR, as Mike Macdonald indicated would happen. They have also designated tackle Stone Forsythe for return from IR, The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar tweets.
With the Seahawks missing Abraham Lucas and George Fant for most of the season’s first half, Forsythe logged five starts before going down with a hand injury. Lucas has since return after a long rehab effort, which would make Forsythe a backup once he is activated. Fant is amid a second IR stint.
While the Seahawks could soon have some tackle depth back, they will be down a starting guard. Anthony Bradford sustained an ankle injury during Seattle’s win over Arizona and is heading to IR. Playing opposite free agency addition Laken Tomlinson, Bradford has started every game for the Seahawks this season. Week 13 will be the first game either of Seattle’s starting guards misses. Bradford suffered a “pretty severe” high ankle sprain, Macdonald said (via Dugar). The Seahawks hope he can come back after the required four-week absence period.
Bradford won the right guard job out of training camp, keeping a place in the starting lineup after the Seahawks moved on from both their 2023 guard starters (Damien Lewis, Phil Haynes). Bradford spent much of last season filling in for Haynes, who has not resurfaced since his Seahawks contract expired, while Lewis manned the LG job. Lewis defected to the Panthers on an eight-figure-per-year deal, and the Seahawks kept cost low by signing Tomlinson to a veteran-minimum deal. Bradford remains tied to a rookie contract.
A 2023 fourth-round pick, Bradford has struggled in moving to full-time duty this year. Pro Football Focus rates the LSU alum as the NFL’s fourth-worst guard among regulars in 2024. ESPN’s run block win rate metric ranks the Seahawks in the bottom five. Another Haynes, third-rounder Christian, is set to replace Bradford, who appeared on the Seattle sideline in a walking boot and using crutches. Despite not starting any games, Christian Haynes has logged 164 offensive snaps.
Nwosu and Forsythe being activated would leave the Seahawks with three such moves remaining during the regular season. The team also moved linebacker Patrick O’Connell to the active roster.