The Seattle Seahawks added an intriguing special-teams candidate to their training camp roster on August 1, signing linebacker Joseph Vaughn.
Seattle announced the move Saturday while also waiving/injured Ja'Markis Weston. Vaughn is not an established NFL defender, but his history of creating turnovers and playing across multiple special-teams units gives him a defined path to make an impression during camp.
The 6-foot-3, 238-pound linebacker previously spent time with the Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis initially signed Vaughn as an undrafted free agent during its 2025 training camp, brought him back on a reserve/futures contract in January and waived him on April 30.
Seattle is now giving Vaughn another opportunity to turn an offseason roster spot into a longer stay.
Vaughn's most productive college season came before his transfer to UCLA.
He recorded 88 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, two sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles for Yale in 2023. That performance earned him first-team All-Ivy League honors and helped Yale secure a share of the conference championship.
One of Vaughn's interceptions that season became an 85-yard touchdown return. He also returned an interception 35 yards for a score during the 2022 season.
Across 44 career games at Yale and UCLA, Vaughn totaled 147 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four interceptions and three forced fumbles. Two of those four interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
That production does not guarantee an NFL defensive role. It does, however, demonstrate the awareness and ball skills that make Vaughn more interesting than the typical late-camp addition.
Vaughn's background also reflects unusual versatility. He played safety, linebacker and wide receiver in high school, finishing his prep career with 233 tackles, eight interceptions and 20 receiving touchdowns.
Vaughn's final college season offers the clearest indication of how Seattle may evaluate him.
After transferring to UCLA, Vaughn played all 12 games in 2024 but recorded only eight tackles as a reserve linebacker. His larger contribution came on special teams.
Field Gulls reported that Vaughn played only seven defensive snaps for UCLA but logged 182 special-teams snaps across punt and kickoff coverage and return units.
That experience matters for a player entering camp this late.
Vaughn is unlikely to leap directly into a significant defensive role. To survive roster reductions, he will need to demonstrate that he can contribute immediately on multiple coverage units while offering emergency depth at linebacker.
For players competing near the bottom of an NFL roster, special-teams versatility can be more valuable than a narrow defensive skill set. Vaughn already has experience in several phases, which should allow Seattle's coaches to evaluate him without an extensive adjustment period.
The timing also gives Vaughn opportunities in preseason games, where tackling, assignment discipline and coverage effort will carry more weight than his college statistics.
Seattle created the roster opening by waiving Weston with an injury designation.
Weston will revert to the Seahawks' injured reserve list if he clears waivers, according to reports.
The transaction represents the normal churn that takes place during training camp, but Vaughn arrives with traits worth monitoring.
His path is still narrow. He has not appeared in an NFL regular-season game, and his limited defensive work at UCLA suggests Seattle should view him primarily as a developmental linebacker and special-teams candidate.
But Vaughn's turnover history, size and coverage-unit experience give him a more tangible case than the average August signing.
His first objective will not be earning defensive snaps. It will be showing the Seahawks that he can help on game day in the kicking game, and make himself difficult to remove when the roster begins to shrink.
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