After a promising start to his Seattle Seahawks career, injuries plagued veteran edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu for two seasons.

Bump has his eye on 2 players as Seattle Seahawks begin OTAs

Nwosu played just six games apiece during the 2023 and 2024 campaigns. But this past season, the Seahawks finally got a healthy version of the USC product again.

The 29-year-old Nwosu returned from offseason knee surgery in Week 2 and didn’t miss a game the rest of the way through their run to a Super Bowl title. He finished the regular season with seven sacks, seven tackles for loss and 46 total pressures in 16 games. And in the Super Bowl, he got to cap his bounce-back year with a moment he’ll never forget, returning a interception 45 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on Seattle’s 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots.

Nwosu’s year was a positive sign after two lost seasons, but former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus is hoping to see even more from the veteran in 2026.

“With the departure of Boye Mafe (in free agency), you need a guy like Uchenna Nwosu just to get back to who he is,” Bumpus said Friday during his Four Down Territory segment on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “He didn’t have a bad season at all, not at all. But I didn’t feel the impact that we’re used to having with Uchenna Nwosu. So I’m looking at Uchenna and just that defensive line, that box in general. If you can get a veteran like Uchenna and Dante (Fowler Jr.) to step it up one more notch and hold things down, I like where this defense is going to go.”

What Bumpus is hoping to see from Nwosu is something closer to his breakout first year with Seattle in 2022. In 17 games that season, Nwosu produced 12 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. His 61 pressures were also the 16th most of any defender league-wide, per Pro Football Focus.

“He has it in him,” Bumpus said. “… That’s the guy that we need. He’s 29 years old, he’s still young. I think he’s capable. If he has a good offseason (and) comes back healthy, I think Uchenna is primed for a good year. “

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• NFL commish pushes back on reports about Seahawks sale
• Ranking second-year Seahawks by potential ’26 impact
• Brock: Seattle Seahawks may host Cowboys in joint practice

SEATTLE — Three years after Seattle voters approved the creation of a publicly owned social housing developer — and later approved a new tax on high earners to fund it — the organization has made its biggest move yet: purchasing a luxury apartment building steps from Pike Place Market for $60 million.

The acquisition of the Elara at the Market marks the first major property purchase by the Seattle Social Housing Developer, which plans to convert the 150-unit building into permanently affordable housing.

Supporters argue the deal reflects the financial reality of building housing in Seattle’s expensive market and may ultimately cost less than constructing a similar project from the ground up.

“We were going out to look for acquisitions as our first step in the social housing developer’s portfolio because it is something where we can get residents quickly,” Seattle Social Housing Developer CEO Tiffani McCoy said. “We are able to show the concept quicker than we would through new construction.”

Seattle voters face key decision on affordable social housing in upcoming special election

McCoy said the organization intentionally targeted what she described as a “Class A asset,” a building without major deferred maintenance or repair needs, in a highly desirable neighborhood where lower-income residents typically cannot afford to live.

Longtime resident Lauren Boyan said she first learned about the purchase through a text message from another tenant after residents received letters explaining the transition.

“My friend Melissa, who lives on the bottom floor, texted me the letter, and we both discussed whether or not this was real,” Boyan said.

Boyan, who has lived in the building since 2021, praised the location and quality of the apartments.

“I really like how it’s centrally located,” she said. “Everything I like is within walking distance. It’s close to transit.”

Asked about the “luxury” label attached to the building, Boyan laughed at the description.

“I mean, it’s a newer build. The appliances work,” she said. “To me, that’s a luxury, I guess.”

McCoy defended the decision to purchase a higher-end apartment complex rather than an older or cheaper property. The acquisition works out to a per-unit price of roughly $400,000. Multiple analyses have suggested it could cost between $300,000 and $400,000 to build an affordable housing unit from scratch.

“Everyone deserves to live in high-quality housing,” she said. “What do we mean by luxury? Is it having access to a washer and dryer? Is it having access to common space? Is it having access to housing that doesn’t have mold or pests?”

McCoy said the organization is trying to avoid the mistakes that have plagued some public housing systems for decades by purchasing buildings that can remain stable long term without major capital investments.

“These housing units are permanent social housing fixtures,” she said. “We can never sell off these buildings.”

The purchase was financed through voter-approved funding measures passed in 2025, including a tax on businesses with highly paid employees. McCoy said revenue from the tax has significantly exceeded initial projections.

“The first installment of this revenue source hit our bank accounts in March of this year,” McCoy said. “I just think that goes to show there is a lot of wealth in our city.”

According to the developer, current tenants will not be displaced. Rents will be frozen for two years, some fees will be eliminated, and residents will receive free ORCA transit passes.

A public lottery for vacant affordable units also opened Friday. The first available apartments will go to residents earning less than 30% of the area median income, followed by those earning between 30% and 50% of the area median income. Eventually, the organization plans to serve residents earning anywhere from zero to 120% of the area’s median income.

Boyan, who voted in favor of the original social housing initiative, said she strongly supports the broader mission behind the program.

“I’m very much in support of Seattle being a community that can actually be a community,” she said. “That involves people of all different incomes, all different backgrounds.”

She added that maintaining affordability in neighborhoods near downtown and Pike Place Market is critical to preserving Seattle’s cultural identity.

“This neighborhood, in particular, is super important for art and culture,” Boyan said. “Having a pathway for people to be able to afford to live here is super important.”

Still, Boyan said she hopes the agency is prepared for the operational realities that come with managing housing at this scale.

“I would be more concerned with how the actual management of it is going to go,” she said. “What’s the actual plan?”

“I hope they’re thinking through the surprises,” she added.

The Seattle Social Housing Developer said it hopes to purchase another apartment complex before the end of the year while simultaneously launching its first new-construction projects. McCoy said future developments will prioritize larger, family-sized units, including two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, which she argues are largely missing from Seattle’s current housing market.