Athlete's Own is a series that gives Seahawks a voice and platform to show fans who they are beyond the field. Hear from players, in their own words, about their life experiences.
I'm Back
By: Uchenna Nwosu
12s, I have been gone from the field for some time now. But I am back now, and I am more determined than ever to be a player that you can depend on and believe in.
Last season, on Oct. 22, 2023, in the game against the Cardinals, I made a routine tackle, and felt a pop in my shoulder. I just knew right away what had happened. I tore my pectoral muscle. It was shocking. I had to miss the last 11 remaining games of the season. You hear about players that have injuries and bounce back, but I did not know what was going to happen, as everyone's recovery process is different.
Before my injury last year, I came into the 2023-2024 season fresh from a contract extension, and my mindset was that this was my time to shine. I felt welcomed here in Seattle. The fans loved and appreciated me, and I felt this was my chance to take my game to the next level. I had a goal of elevating myself both on and off the field with football and with growing The Uchenna Nwosu Foundation. My foundation focuses on empowerment and community engagement. I was ready, and my mind was primed to take the next step in my career. But it seems like then was not my time, and my season was cut short.
This was the first major injury I've had, so I didn't really know how to navigate something like this. I am thankful for my Seahawks family though. During my recovery process, I got great advice from Pete Carroll and Clint Hurtt telling me, "Just be around your family, be around people that love you, and you'll be back next year, no worries." So I took their advice and spent November 2023 in L.A. to recover and heal. I have a good support system back home, with my parents and siblings. During my injury process, they were able to help take care of me and check up on me considering they have experience in the medical field. My dad, a recently retired psychiatric nurse from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and my mother, a surgical post-op recovery nurse for Kaiser Permanente. They know what's best when dealing with injuries and recovery.
Being injured is not something that anyone wants to deal with in their professional career, let alone life, but during that time, I realized that everything happens for a reason. It was out of my control. I'm a competitor at heart, and I always want to be on the field. I am always trying to hype up the guys and show them what it's like to bring it every day. I try to lead by example. When I wasn't out there, and I wasn't available to be out there around my team, being the supportive leader I knew I could be, it not only hurt them, but it hurt me.
When I came back to Seattle in December 2023, I had all my teammates there for me while I was still going through my recovery process. Having everyone telling me they missed me, wishing I was out there playing with them, asking how recovery was going, them telling me they were praying for me showed me I have great teammates, and it let me know they care about me. I continued rehab and got ready for the upcoming game year.
I was ready to go into the 2024-2025 season hard and make up for all of the time that I had missed. I headed into the preseason excited to be on the field again and ready to go. I made my debut for the year, playing in our last preseason game vs. the Cleveland Browns. It was a rush getting to play again. I made a couple of tackles, but sadly, I did not make it through that game. I sustained an MCL injury to my knee, and because of this, I had to miss the first four games of the regular season. Luckily, this injury did not require surgery, just rehab and rest for recovery.
When I stepped onto the field for our regular season opener on Sept. 8, 2024, vs. the Denver Broncos, it was from the sidelines. At this point, it had been 322 days or 46 weeks or 463,680 minutes or 27,820,800 seconds. I have never had to watch from the sidelines for that long. By Week 5 of the season, I was ready to go again, ready to make my official regular season debut. That game ended on a low for me as I suffered another injury—a quadricep tear from a poor play. I could not believe it, honestly, and I was crushed. I have tried so hard to do everything right, and I kept falling short. I was disappointed and felt like I was letting everyone down. This injury as well required no surgery, and again I took the time for rehab and strength training for recovery.
It is now December, and here I am preparing to play for only the third time this season. This season did not start how I was expecting it to. Dealing with not one but two different injuries wasn't easy, and everything has felt out of my control. The injury during that preseason game against the Browns was frustrating because it was the preseason. I was just out there getting some reps in. That's not how it was supposed to go. And then to be injured again in Week 5 after playing 20 snaps was even more frustrating. But if there's any positive outlook to any of this, it's that the injuries have made me introspective and forced me to put even more trust into the process and journey that I've been on.
Dealing with back-to-back injuries has been tough. The first time I was injured, I wasn't around the team and took time for myself. But with this most recent injury, I did not want to abandon my teammates. I know I can be a supportive leader, so that is what I did. I've been with the team throughout the recovery process this time—traveling with the team, being around my teammates, and being a support system. I've been on the sidelines pretty much helping my teammates out and letting them know what I was seeing from my perspective. I was able to contribute in that way, even though I wasn't playing. Watching from the sidelines kept me hopeful that I'd be out there soon and prepared me even more to be back. I know my career is still going to be great, and I can't wait to get back on the field to make plays and play the sport that's been so important to me.
To the 12s, I want you all to know that I'm still ready, I'm finally back. I'm going to be back and better this year. I want to help the Seahawks have a fighting chance of winning the NFC West. We have a lot of good opponents on our schedule, but I just want to be a leader on the team and really try to help the team win. I think everyone should have individual goals, and for me, it's to make my first Pro Bowl. I know I'm ready.
I want to take the time to say thank you to my trainer for helping me get back to where I am now. Shout out to John Meyer—he was the team doctor when I was playing at USC and helped me through the recovery process of this injury. And thank you to Dr. ElAttrache for a successful surgery on my pectoral muscle repair. You all have aided me in getting back to playing today.
Most of all, thank you to my parents for their support. To the 12s, I want you all to know that I'm ready, I'm back. I'm going to do everything in my power to lead the team to a championship, and I appreciate all the fans for giving me all the love.
