In Seattle: a look at the ex-Steelers player joining the Seahawks and another resignation out of city government.
Former Steelers tight end goes through a tryout with the Seattle Seahawks
NFL veteran Nick Vannett, who over his decade-long career has managed to play for nine different teams, has been given another chance to return to the Seattle Seahawks. As journalist Aaron Wilson reported, the former Pittsburgh Steelers player went through a tryout with the Washington club. This is not the first time Vannett has appeared with Seattle — they drafted him in the third round of the 2016 draft, and then traded him to Pittsburgh in 2019. In his lone season with the Steelers, the tight end caught 13 passes for 128 yards. He later signed with the Denver Broncos ahead of the 2020 season, and since then he has been moving around the league.
Notably, Vannett is one of those players whose career is made up of short stints with different clubs. Over ten years, he has played for Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Denver, as well as six other teams, which speaks to his value as a role player — even if it also points to a lack of a stable starting spot. Now, the Seahawks may be looking at him as an experienced option for depth before training camp begins.
Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh they are actively preparing for the start of training sessions — the team heads to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in just a few days. As the outlet Behind the Steel Curtain, which will cover the workouts on location, notes, fans should expect fresh updates and details from Latrobe. For his part, if Vannett signs a contract, he could become part of a Seahawks rebuild effort — as they look for a balance between youth and experience at the tight end position.
Vannett’s story follows the classic NFL “journeyman” path — a player who rarely stays with one club longer than a year, but consistently finds work thanks to versatility and dependability. For Seattle, this could be a relatively low-cost addition, especially since the team did not select any tight ends in the 2024 draft. It remains unclear whether the tryout will end with a contract, but the fact that he was brought in at all suggests the club is searching for options for the upcoming season. A full report on the situation is available in an article by Yahoo Sports.
Another key staffer leaves Seattle mayor’s office: turnover continues
Seattle Mayor Kathy Wilson’s administration is seeing yet another round of staffing changes. Sage Wilson, the mayor’s press secretary (same name, but not related to the mayor), announced that he is leaving city government after serving in the role for less than seven months. As the local outlet PubliCola reports, Sage decided to do so after “determining that he would be more effective as an advocate for progressive movements outside city hall than within it.” Previously, he worked in media relations for the labor advocacy group Working Washington and for the progressive policy think tank Civic Ventures. On his LinkedIn page, he listed his position as deputy director of communications. His last day on the job is set for early August, and he does not yet have a new role lined up.
Sage’s departure is only the latest in a string of high-profile resignations out of Kathy Wilson’s office. Earlier in June, as PubliCola reported, after several weeks of negative coverage in the press, the mayor asked for the resignation of her director of communications, Seferiana Day. In his place, political consultant Crystal Nicole Fincher was brought in temporarily, along with Dawn Shellenberg from the Seattle Department of Transportation to help with media work. In a comment to The Center Square that was republished by Everett Post, Shellenberg described the rotation as normal: “New administrations often experience some turnover and restructuring early on, while staff settle into their roles and work on the priorities they were elected to carry out.” Critics, however, see signs of instability.
The situation is compounded by the mayor’s own inconsistency on high-profile issues. Even before she took office, Kathy Wilson urged Seattle residents to boycott Starbucks in support of a barista protest at a local café. Later, she softened her position — especially after Starbucks announced it would move part of its headquarters to Nashville and relocate some employees out of Seattle. In June, in an interview with Fox 13 Seattle, when asked directly by the host whether she still supports the boycott, Wilson replied: “I recently went into Starbucks at Pike Place Market and ordered… I think it was a latte with a blueberry muffin — the staff’s signature creation. It seems like I violated the boycott.” She added: “I don’t know what you want me to say about it.”
Those swings have not gone unnoticed. In a May column for The Wall Street Journal, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz criticized what he called the mayor’s “socialist rhetoric,” which he said creates an anti-business climate and pushes companies to leave Seattle. Schultz wrote: “Mayor Katie Wilson has chosen to portray business as an enemy rather than a partner. Her socialist rhetoric demonizes employers, even as she continues to rely on them to finance the city. She urged residents who disagree with her policies to leave.”
The news of Sage Wilson’s departure sparked immediate criticism from political opponents on social media — pointing to the staff shuffle as evidence of broader ineffectiveness and instability in the administration. Still, some wished the departing spokesperson well, noting how stressful the job can be in such circumstances. Fox News Digital reached out to Sage Wilson for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication. For an administration that has just completed its first year, losing multiple key communications figures at once is a worrying signal. Especially as the city needs to build dialogue with business and residents, in a context where far-left ideas collide with economic reality.
Why the Seattle mayor’s press secretary is leaving: another personnel loss in the Wilson administration
In the administration of Seattle Mayor Kathy Wilson, elected a little more than six months ago, another major dismissal is making headlines. Sage Wilson, the chief press secretary (not related to the mayor), announced his resignation effective August 4. This is the fourth significant loss on the mayor’s team in seven months: earlier, the director of communications, Seferiana Day Hasegawa, was let go, and before that, at the end of May, the top administrator for homeless policy, John Grant, stepped down. In mid-May, the mayor replaced her longtime friend and chief of staff, Kate Brunette Croitzer, with interim director of Esther Handy, a veteran of municipal service. As reported in a Yahoo News article, the staffing churn is happening amid ongoing conflicts between the mayor — who positions herself as a democratic socialist (a left-wing political movement in the United States that advocates for steep tax increases on the wealthy and large corporations, expanding social programs, and active government intervention in the economy) — and the business community.
Recall that even while she was mayor-elect in November, Wilson called on residents to boycott Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters in support of baristas trying to form a union. Later, she softened her stance after Starbucks announced it would move some jobs to Nashville and open a regional headquarters there. In a May column in the Wall Street Journal, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz called her “socialist rhetoric” hostile to business and one of the reasons corporations are leaving the city and the local economy is worsening. Against that backdrop, Sage Wilson — the mayor’s most visible media face — took part in numerous events and public appearances and ultimately decided to step away. In his farewell letter, he wrote that he came to the role, “inspired by the vision of what could be possible in Seattle under bold progressive leadership in city hall, ready to meet big challenges,” and that he was “moved by how the office is evolving,” but realized that “personally he is better served advancing this vision from outside government.” He did not comment on the reasons for leaving.
Temporary communications director Dawn Shellenberg, who had been appointed after Hasegawa was fired, tried to smooth things over by saying that “turnover and restructuring are typical for new administrations early on, when staff are learning their roles and setting priorities that voters have asked them to carry out.” She confirmed that city hall is continuing to work on its agenda: expanding shelters for people experiencing homelessness, improving housing accessibility, developing transportation, and increasing government accountability. Meanwhile, on the city website, applications for a permanent director of communications position are open until July 28, with a salary ranging from $164,868 to $272,087 per year. The job description, as noted in the article, promises an ambitious program: “a vision of how we can tackle big problems and deliver ambitious projects, address the housing availability crisis, get people back into homes, and make our city a great place to live, work, and raise children.”
This run of departures points to deeper internal problems within the mayor’s team, which is simultaneously trying to push a left-leaning agenda, facing harsh business criticism, and dealing with a steady stream of negative coverage in national media. The departure of the most public spokesperson at precisely the moment the administration needs clear communication could further worsen its situation. On the other hand, replacing key figures and the announced salary for the new head of communications indicate that the mayor does not intend to back off from her stated course and hopes to bring in professionals who can handle increasing pressure. For now, the administration’s external image remains murky, and internal stability remains in question.
