Seahawks trade tight end Nick Vannett to the Steelers

Herald news services

SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday traded tight end Nick Vannett to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fifth-round draft pick in 2020.

Seattle is expected to sign former Seahawk tight end Luke Willson to take Vannett’s place on the roster.

Willson, 29, was with the Seahawks from 2013-17 before signing with Detroit as a free agent in 2018. He was in training camp with Oakland this summer before being released at the cutdown to 53.

Willson, a popular presence in the Seattle locker room and in the community during his five years in Seattle, had 89 receptions for 1,129 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Seahawks and was part of the team that won the Super Bowl following the 2013 season. His return means Seattle will have four players from that squad on its roster, the others being Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.

Willson’s availability made it easier for the Seahawks to deal Vannett once the tight end-starved Steelers offered what could be a relatively high fifth-round pick (the Steelers are 0-3) for a player who might not have been in Seattle’s plans beyond this season. Vannett, a third-round pick out of Ohio State, is in his fourth season with the Seahawks and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

Pittsburgh was in need of help at tight end with veteran Vance McDonald nursing a shoulder injury that likely will sideline him for Monday night’s game against Cincinnati and perhaps longer.

Vannett has been Seattle’s backup tight end for the first three games of the season behind second-year player Will Dissly, a Washington alum who is off to a hot start to the 2019 season with 12 catches for 124 yards and three touchdowns.

Vannett played 26 snaps in Sunday’s 33-27 loss to New Orleans and has four receptions for 38 yards this season. He started nine games last season, primarily when Ed Dickson and Dissly were injured, and had a career-high 29 receptions for 269 yards and three touchdowns. For his career he has 48 receptions for 463 yards and four touchdowns.

Seattle has been carrying just two listed tight ends on its roster this season due in part to the fact that tackle George Fant often plays a tight-end role.