Tuputala Remains Football Survivor, Signed Late By Seahawks

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 9:04 PM ET

Twelve months ago, Alphonzo Tuputala was the last man standing, the only starter to reclaim his old job for the University of Washington football team coming off a national championship game appearance.

On Monday, the 6-foot-1, 231-pound linebacker was a late addition to the Seattle Seahawk' 90-man roster, signing as an undrafted free agent.

Coming from different directions, Tuputala just won't go away when so many others have to.

To make room for him, the local NFL franchise waived cornerback Kam Alexander, an undrafted player from the University of Oregon.

Tuputala, originally from Federal Way, Washington, has always been able to do things the hard way on the football field.

Seahawks have signed former UW standout Alphonso Tuputala to their 90-man roster and waived CB Kam Alexander. Tuputala is a Federal Way High alum. He'll add depth at an ILB spot that has been hit with some injuries.
— Bob Condotta (@bcondotta) August 11, 2025

He arrived at Washington as the least heralded linebacker of four brought in as 2019 recruits, but he ended up as the only one who stuck it out in Montlake and became a starter.

Of the others, Daniel Heimuli transferred to Arizona and then to Georgia State. Josh Calvert finished up at Utah and Miki Ah You gave up football and went home to Hawaii.

Yet before becoming a three-year UW starter, Tuputala first tore an Achilles tendon in 2021 spring practice and recovered halfway through the following season and later won a No. 1 linebacker job with Kalen DeBoer's coaching staff.

As a second-year Husky starter, Tuputala had to overcome the embarrassment of going 76 yards with an interception return against Utah when it should have been 77 -- he inexplicably dropped the ball on the 1, thinking he had scored, and it became a fumble recovered by the Utes..

Yet he overcame that blooper play by helping the Huskies win 14 consecutive games before falling in the CFP national championship game to Michigan 34-13 in Houston.

Last season, as that only starter returning to a dismantled Husky lineup, Tuputala served as a team captain and did his best to keep a shorthanded UW team together in order to beat USC and Michigan.

Jedd Fisch's staff found him so versatile, it used the veteran in multiple spots on the defense last fall, putting him at edge rusher and outside linebacker besides in his interior role.

He finished his UW career with 234 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 8 sacks while playing in 54 games and starting 40 of them. .

The Seahawks initially brought Tuputala to rookie minicamp and didn't lose sight of him. A rash of injuries at the position prompted the Seattle franchise to pick him up to bolster its depth.

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This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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