Ex-Charger Uchenna Nwosu earns much freer, do-what-you-like Seahawks role. It’s working

Ask Uchenna Nwosu what he likes about leaving his native Los Angeles to move to Seattle. He mentions the rain — and the fact that locals keep telling him it’s coming.

“They said that last week,” the outside linebacker said.

He chuckled before heading out to another dry, smoke-filled practice by Lake Washington Wednesday.

But what he loves most about leaving his hometown Chargers to play for the Seahawks against his former team Sunday in southern California? His freedom.

He basically gets to make up his own ways to go on plays.

“When I got here, game one, I was going in. I was going out. I was driving (straight upfield). I was doing anything, honestly,” he said.

“That first game, I thought, ‘OK, this is how it’s supposed to feel. This is how it’s supposed to be.’”

That first game against Russell Wilson and the Broncos he used the loudest Seattle home crowd in years to his advantage. Nwosu got quicker jumps off snaps than Denver’s blockers and crashed through the offensive line twice inside the 5-yard line. He ruined two running plays that became the two fumbles Seattle recovered to preserve the 17-16 win. He also smashed into Wilson twice and had his season high of seven tackles that night.

That’s not where he was assigned to be on those plays.

That was the result of his new Seattle independence.

Pete Carroll, Clint Hurtt give freedom

Coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt changed Seattle’s long-time 4-3 defense to a more versatile and varied 3-4 for this season. They gave each defender specific assignments for each play call. Those responsibilities are rigid, for the nose tackle through the linebackers to each member of a changing secondary.

But early in training camp Carroll noticed how physical the new, 6-foot-2, 251-pound Nwosu was charging into offensive tackles and setting his right edge of the defense. The linebacker’s consistent physicality earned from the head coach the freedom to freelance away from his normal, assigned tasks for plays.

Carroll told Nwosu to take chances, to do whatever he needed to do to make a play: duck inside under blocks, jump outside to avoid them, shoot adjacent gaps that might be a teammate’s responsibility — whatever.

“He’s really physical. Taking advantage of playing like that starts with being physical,” Carroll said. “You have to be an aggressive, attacking player, because otherwise you miss the opportunities to take the aggressive and throw the change-up at them.”

Freed from reading and mostly just going, Nwosu has been the one Seahawk in a porous front seven who has consistently made big plays.

“He definitely has helped us,” Carroll said.

“He has a really good sense for (taking risks). The thing I’ve tried to do is, as soon as we realized that, just free him up: ‘Take the liberties. You have the liberties to go.’ It’s not everybody we’ve coached like that. ...You are going to hold him back if you don’t.

“He’s having a good time playing. He likes the way we are doing it.”

Loves it, in fact.

Nwosu has spent much of the first six games in opposing backfields. He has three sacks. That’s two off his career high for a season. He set that last year playing in the Chargers’ similar 3-4 system.

Then he signed a two-year, $19 million contract with $10.5 guaranteed from the Seahawks in free agency in March.

By the end of August, Carroll made Nwosu a wild card. Seattle’s number 10 may go who knows where on any given play.

“It’s definitely helped me,” Nwosu said.

“Physicality. When you are going up against a tackle you are always going to think ‘physical, physical.’ The next time you might slip him. The next time you might go around him. It just makes guys hesitate, causes them to slow their feet. And when they slow their feet, I can accelerate or I’m in position to make a play.

“Yeah, I guess it is a vote of confidence, you could say, when a coach says, ‘Go do what you gotta do to make a play,’ basically. I was like, ‘All right, shoot, I’ll do it.’

“Shout out to Pete for giving me that freedom.”

Hurtt said it’s independence Nwosu never had in four seasons and 62 games in the Chargers’ 3-4 scheme.

“(We) give him the freedom to play inside or outside, as a ‘nine’ technique or what have you. To free him up, it was a new world for him, because he was never allowed to do that,” Hurtt said.

“But he has grasped that and taking advantage of it, where it’s allowed him to be a lot more active.”

More freedom, more plays for Nwosu

Nwosu’s main task with Los Angeles — where he went to Narbonne High School then played at USC — was as the contain man outside. He had to first set the edge and not let plays get outside of him.

With Carroll and the Seahawks, he’s free to improvise from the snap, often free from normal outside-contain responsibilities of 3-4 outside linebackers of having end gap and contain assignments.

“Definitely, I feel like I’ve been making a lot more plays here than I did there,” he said. “I’m doing better. I’m playing better. My production is continuing to be better, and I’m happy to be here.”

Nwosu has been the strongest and most consistent of what’s become a trial-and-(a lot of)-error rotation at both outside linebackers. Darrell Taylor got benched this month. He’s now a situational third-down pass rusher. Rookie second-round draft choice Boye Mafe has become the early-down outside backer opposite Nwosu.

Mafe got his chance after Darryl Johnson showed promise but injured his foot in his first start early this month. He’s on injured reserve.

Nwosu has been so indispensable he’s been playing 80% of snaps, most of his career. The Seahawks want to bring that down some, to maintain their freelancer for the entirety of the 17-game season. That and leadership are why the team signed back Bruce Irvin for a third go-round last week.

Irvin, who turns 35 in two weeks, did not play last weekend in Seattle’s 19-9 win over Arizona. He acclimated to his first practices since January when he was ending his only half season with the Chicago Bears. Carroll said Irvin wants to play Sunday at the Chargers, and if he proves football fit he likely will, to rotate in some with Nwosu.

The Seahawks may not be able to afford Nwosu not being in there.

“The outside linebackers in this system, they are the guys who make this thing go,” Hurtt said. “They have the ability play when we say ‘crash nines,’ and play on tight ends, that’s the ability to play inside, outside or run through a guy’s face. The freedom to do that, that makes it very hard on tight ends...to block those guys when they have that luxury.

“So to have the freedom to do that, he’s definitely enjoyed it.”

One thing he hasn’t enjoyed: finding ways for all the friends and family members who want to see him play in his L.A. homecoming Sunday at 1:25 p.m. at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

“Man, I’m still trying to find more tickets, man. These are hurting my pocket...they are hurtin’ right now,” he said, laughing. “So I expect to have a lot. A LOT of family there, yeah.”

“Man, it’s going to mean a lot. Going back home, being able to play in front of my family and my friends like I’ve done my whole, entire athletic career, sports career. I’m looking forward to seeing my family and my friends support me in those stands.

Nwosu was asked if he will have to guard against not being too amped up to play effectively?

“Oh, I’m always amped up, so this ain’t nothing new. It’s how I play every week in, week out.”

To prove to the Chargers?

“Not just to the Chargers, but to the whole world. Just to keep proving that I’m this player that I know I can be. You know, I’m a great player. I’m just going to keep getting better.”