Inside The Huskies

Onwuzurike Finally On NFL Road to Recovery for Lions

The former Husky defensive tackle has had good spring outings.
Dan Raley|
Former UW defensive tackles Levi Onwuzurike celebrates a preseason play for the Detroit Lions in 2023.
Former UW defensive tackles Levi Onwuzurike celebrates a preseason play for the Detroit Lions in 2023. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

On NFL draft night in 2021, Levi Onwuzurike sat in his Texas home and confidently told a media audience over a Zoom call he was ready to dominate for the Detroit Lions, that he could play anywhere on the defensive line and suggested he should have been a first-rounder rather than taken a round later.

Three years later, the former University of Washington standout found his pro football career in jeopardy after an injury-filled, under-performing and even at times idle three seasons for a franchise on the upswing.

Fortunately for Onwuzurike, the Lions haven't been in any hurry to part with him -- and he's recently had an increasingly productive round of offseason practices.

After an uneventful rookie season, Onwuzurike sat out the 2022 season with a back injury that required spinal fushion surgery and returned to a careful role in 2023, appearing in 10 games and coming up with just 5 tackles, including a sack.

This past week, Lions coach Dan Campbell praised Onwuzurike for continuing to work on getting his body sound, noting how the former Husky has finally increased his weight to 300 pounds after playing at 280 last season.

"This guy just has continued to rehab, he’s continued to train his body and work, and he’s put on weight because his back can handle it now," Campbell said. "We got him through last year to where he’s able to bank some reps and he’s having a really good spring.”

Lions coach Dan Campbell hugs defensive end Levi Onwuzurike during the 2023 season.
Lions coach Dan Campbell hugs defensive end Levi Onwuzurike during the 2023 season. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Onwuzurike has appeared in just 26 career NFL games, without starting any of them, and collected 40 career tackles.

The one-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection said his back finally feels right for the first time since entering the league and he's encouraged by it all.

“The best way I can explain it is everything is moving together as one," he told reporters. "Speed to power, my whole body feels like one, all together."

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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