The Noah Fant experiment is over for the Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks released the veteran tight end on Sunday, with one year still remaining on his two-year, $21 million deal. It ends an underwhelming tenure in Seattle for the 27-year-old former first-round pick, who came over from the Denver Broncos in the blockbuster 2022 Russell Wilson trade.
A closer look at what Noah Fant’s release means for Seahawks
Why did the Seahawks make the move? Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard listed three reasons Monday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.
The production didn’t match the contract
Fant was set to carry a $13.41 million salary cap hit this season, according to OvertheCap.com. That would have been the second-highest cap hit of any Seahawks player and the eighth-highest of any NFL tight end.
And ultimately, Fant’s production in Seattle never lived up to that type of money.
Over his three seasons with the Seahawks, he totaled 1,400 receiving yards and just five touchdown catches. He never finished higher than 18th on the league’s receiving yardage leaderboard and at one point went 32 straight games without a TD. He also left plenty to be desired as a blocker, ranking 67th out of 74 tight ends in Pro Football Focus run block grading last season.
“He just wasn’t dynamic enough,” Huard said. “If you’re gonna make that kind of money at that position in this league, you’ve gotta produce much more significant numbers. You’ve gotta make things happen when the ball is in your hands. Good player? Yes. Great player worthy of that contract? At this stage, unfortunately not.”
The rest of Seattle’s TE room
By releasing Fant, the Seahawks clearly showed they have enough confidence in the rest of their tight ends corps.
That begins with the promising young duo of rookie second-round pick Elijah Arroyo and second-year pro AJ Barner. The 6-foot-5, 254-pound Arroyo is a highly intriguing talent with rare speed and athleticism for his size, which he showcased while leading all FBS tight ends in yards per catch last season at the University of Miami. Barner, meanwhile, is coming off a productive four-touchdown rookie campaign where he proved to be both a reliable pass catcher and run blocker.
There’s also veteran free agent addition Eric Saubert, undrafted rookie Nick Kallerup and a pair of former tight ends competing at fullback in rookie fifth-round pick Robbie Ouzts and third-year pro Brady Russell. Saubert ranked 19th out of 74 tight ends in PFF run block grading last year with the San Francisco 49ers, while the 6-foot-5, 266-pound Kallerup ranked second among all FBS tight ends in run block grading last fall at the University of Minnesota.
“You’ve got a plethora of guys that you added to this roster to give you a versatility and a flexibility to absorb that loss of Noah Fant,” Huard said.
The injury risk
Why did the Seahawks release Fant now, with training camp just days away?
Huard thinks they likely attempted to trade Fant over the past few months, but he pointed out that the market may not have been conducive to that, especially after a particularly strong 2025 draft class that featured five tight ends among the top 50 picks.
Huard then pointed to the risk of Fant sustaining an injury in training camp and the Seahawks being on the hook to pay his $8.49 million base salary for 2025.
“You couldn’t risk putting him on the field,” Huard said. “With a vested veteran like him, if something were to happen to him, he was going to get all of that $8.49 million. … So just financially, with what you’re projecting from him, you aren’t going to take that risk.”
Listen to the full conversation with Brock Huard at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
Seattle Seahawks news and analysis
• Why Seahawks LT Charles Cross could wait until 2026 to sign extension
• Seattle Seahawks release veteran TE Noah Fant ahead of camp
• Walters: Seattle Seahawks’ new offense forces D to ‘think twice’
• Barnwell: Seattle Seahawks need to keep Sam Darnold ‘consistent’
• Seattle Seahawks wrap up draft class by signing TE Elijah Arroyo
