Seattle Seahawks Trade Deadline: 5 Potential Targets to Replace Uchenna Nwosu

Likely without their best pass rusher for the rest of the season, the Seattle Seahawks have a week to scan the market looking for a replacement before the trade deadline. Which players could be available that would be the best fit?

Dropping an unexpected bombshell in his weekly Monday press conference, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll announced standout edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu suffered a significant pectoral injury in a 20-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and likely would require season-ending surgery.

With all signs pointing to Nwosu's 2023 campaign being finished, the Seahawks will have to move forward without one of their best players and leaders in the locker room. For the time being, Carroll told reporters on Monday that the franchise didn't intend to make any moves to acquire a replacement via trade or free agency, instead filling the void from within and expanding roles for players such as Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, and Darrell Taylor.

“We’re not thinking like that yet. We’re going to try to absorb it," Carroll said.

While Carroll dismissed the idea of Seattle adding outside talent to try to replace Nwosu for now and the team has less than $8 million in cap space to work with, general manager John Schneider has an extensive history of orchestrating deals before the trade deadline and surely will be working the phones looking into possible moves in coming days.

Which players could be potential targets for Schneider and the Seahawks? With the October 31 deadline rapidly approaching, here are five trade candidates who could help mitigate Nwosu's absence with remaining cap hit for nine games courtesy of OverTheCap.com data, projected compensation, and a look at how they would fit in the Pacific Northwest.

Montez Sweat, Commanders

Acquired Cap Hit: $6.1 million

Acquiring Sweat would be an interesting turn of events for the Seahawks, who had a chance to draft him in the first round in 2019, only to trade down and eventually pick L.J. Collier instead. Unfortunately for Schneider, that series of moves didn't pan out, as Collier struggled through four seasons with the organization and Sweat has racked up at least five sacks in each of his five seasons in Washington while also tallying nine forced fumbles and 84 quarterback hits.

While Washington has only made the playoffs once in his four prior seasons, Sweat has been dominant at times with 34.5 sacks and 45 tackles for loss in his NFL career / © Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Set to be a free agent in March, with the Commanders clearly not going anywhere in the NFC East in the present, moving Sweat for an early day three selection or even a third round pick in 2024 would make sense for a new ownership group in D.C. The athletic 6-6, 262-pound defender has a versatile enough skill set to shine in a 3-4 or 4-3 defense and has been a rock solid run defender throughout his career with a 79.6 or better grade from Pro Football Focus each of the past four seasons, making him a solid fit to bring on board as a starter across from Mafe in Seattle.

Danielle Hunter, Vikings

Acquired Cap Hit: $6.1 million

Only a few weeks ago, with his contract expiring after the season, Hunter being moved seemed inevitable after Minnesota opened the season a dismal 1-4. But then the Vikings crushed the Bears and upset the 49ers on Monday Night Football in back-to-back weeks, crawling closer to the .500 mark and jumping right back into the fray as a wild card contender in a wide open NFC. At the center of that resurgence, Hunter has registered three sacks in the past two games and currently leads the NFL with nine sacks through Week 7.

Considering Minnesota's improved standing with the trade deadline nearing, the chances of Hunter being dealt aren't as high as they were a few weeks ago. With that said, the franchise still remains at a bit of a crossroads with eyes on the future and due to his red-hot start, the three-time Pro Bowler's value may never be higher. For that reason, the Vikings may still entertain offers for the soon-to-be 29-year old, with a second-round pick or a third-round pick paired with a day three pick being a solid offer to rent him for half a season. While the scheme may not be the best fit in Seattle, Hunter's pass rushing talent is undeniable and he has historically been a strong run defender, so Schneider would be wise to check in on what it would take to land him.

Brian Burns, Panthers

Acquired Cap Hit: $8.47 million

In the past, Schneider hasn't parted ways with high draft picks on deadline deals, instead preferring to send day three picks for players such as safety Quandre Diggs and defensive end Carlos Dunlap. But elite talents such as Burns are rarely available this time of year and with the Panthers remaining the only winless team in the NFL, former Seahawks vice president of football operations and current Carolina general manager Scott Fitterer may be motivated to move his best asset to restock the draft pick cupboard after dealing a boatload of picks to the Bears to move up for quarterback Bryce Young in April.

Only 25 years old and coming off three straight seasons with at least nine sacks, including a career-high 12.5 sacks in 2022, acquiring Burns would likely require at least a second-round pick, if not a first-round selection, for a top-tier talent at a premium position. Since the Seahawks already signed Nwosu to a three-year extension in July, Schneider likely won't be interested in giving up such draft assets for a player scheduled to be a free agent in March and set to command big bucks. In addition, the team currently doesn't have enough cap room to absorb the remainder of his contract anyway and would have to make another cost-saving move to facilitate such a deal, making it extremely unlikely to come to fruition.

Chase Young, Commanders

Acquired Cap Hit: $2.81 million

After two injury-marred seasons in which he played a grand total of 12 games and registered only 1.5 sacks, Young has restored a bit of his value with five sacks so far this year for the Commanders. With that said, he still hasn't quite rediscovered his pre-injury form when he won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2020 and based on reports out of Washington, the organization has balked at the idea of handing the former Ohio State star a lucrative multi-year deal. Like Sweat, with free agency on the horizon next spring, the best course of action for the front office may be trying to take advantage of his recent play by moving him before the deadline for a draft pick.

From Seattle's perspective, Schneider has a history of taking a chance on former first-round picks who didn't pan out with their original team. When healthy, as evidenced by his strong rookie season, Young can be a real difference maker off the edge both as a rusher and run defender and he's still just 24 years old. Due to his limited production and injury history, Washington may be hard-pressed to get more than a third-round pick for him, but such a deal would be in Schneider's wheel house to give the talented youngster an audition for half a season to see if he could become part of the franchise's long-term plans.

Carl Lawson, Jets

Acquired Cap Hit: $595,588

While fans obviously would love to see Schneider swing for the fences acquiring Burns, Hunter, or Sweat, all three of those players likely will require a high draft pick to pry away from their current teams. If you're looking for a value trade that could pay dividends for the Seahawks, look no further than Lawson, a former fourth-round pick out of Auburn who has eclipsed 35 pressures in four of his previous five NFL seasons when healthy. Unfortunately, injuries have been a real issue for him, as he missed the entire 2021 season with a torn Achilles and previously tore his ACL in 2018.

While injuries have been problematic for Lawson, when healthy, he has been a productive pass rusher generating sacks and pressures and carries a low cap hit for the rest of 2023 / © Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Only playing 73 snaps so far this year due to the Jets immense depth at defensive end/edge rusher, Lawson is just a year removed from producing seven sacks and 49 pressures and he's only 28 years old. Carrying a more than affordable cap hit for the rest of the season before becoming a free agent in March, the 265-pound edge defender offers a similar athletic profile to Nwosu and has previous experience playing in a hybrid 3-4 defense. Swapping late round picks and potentially including receiver Dee Eskridge in a deal might be enough to get New York to consider moving him in a trade that could benefit both teams.