Seahawks TE Noah Fant Teases a Potential Return to Denver 'One Day Down the Road'
The Denver Broncos included tight end Noah Fant in the massive trade package relinquished to acquire quarterback Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks. Fant was dealt to the Emerald City along with Drew Lock, Shelby Harris, a pair of first and second-round draft picks, and a mid-rounder.
With the dust having settled on the blockbuster trade that kicked off an unprecedented whirlwind of quarterbacks swaps the league over, Fant has had time to reflect on the trade, his time in Denver, and his new football home in Seattle.
Joining 104.3 The FAN's Stokley and Zach show on Wednesday, Fant — Denver's 2019 first-round pick — gave a parting message to Broncos fans. DNVR's Zac Stevens was kind enough to transcribe Fant's remarks.
“I love you guys," Fant said in response to hosts Brandon Stokley and Zach Bye. "It was a great three years I had there. I look at Denver as one of my second homes… I truly enjoyed it. Hopefully, one day down the road, I could come back.”
While Drew Lock's first statement post-trade snubbed any and all mention of Broncos Country, Fant made sure to give the Orange and Blue faithful some props and even teased a potential return someday.
Although it would have been great to see Fant catching passes from Wilson in the Orange and Blue, like Lock, the move to Seattle is likely a blessing in disguise. Despite solid production, Fant hadn't quite been able to cash in on his first-round draft pedigree through his first three years as a pro.
Many fans, and more than a few in media, questioned whether Fant was even worth the Broncos' premium draft investment because he wasn't putting up Travis Kelce or Darren Waller numbers. But how could he?
After all, while Kelce caught passes from a tier-one quarterback like Patrick Mahomes, Fant had to make lemonade from a lemon carousel that consisted of Joe Flacco, Brandon Allen, Drew Lock, Jeff Driskel, Brett Rypien, and Teddy Bridgewater. The fact that Fant was able to produce even at the level that he did was honestly a modest football miracle.
Throw in the fact that ex-offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur seemed to loathe featuring Fant in the game-plan each week, and the tight end's production becomes even more remarkable. In his final season as a Bronco, Fant posted career-high numbers across the board, starting 16 games, catching 68 passes (on 90 targets) for 670 yards, and hauling in four touchdowns.
In an NFL city that values and appreciates him, even if Lock is the Seahawks' starting quarterback in 2022, I'd be surprised if Fant doesn't top those numbers. We're talking about an athletic freak at 6-foot-4 and nearly 250 pounds with 4.5 speed.
If we're being frank, Fant's considerable talents were mostly squandered in Denver, even though the Broncos had a lot of young skill-position mouths to feed including Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, and Melvin Gordon. Fant now joins a receiving corps in Seattle that boasts its fair number of stars like D.K. Metcalf, but something tells me that the Seahawks' coaching brass won't be so blind (or stubborn) as to neglect the talented tight end in the weekly game-plans.
The Broncos had been undecided on picking up Fant's fifth-year option but the Seahawks have until May 2 to come to a resolution. If the team exercises it, he won't be a free agent until 2024.
If Seattle GM John Schneider opts not to pick up Fant's fifth-year, the tight end will become a free agent a year from now. And like he teased, from there, the talented tight end would be free to sign with any NFL team that wanted him — including the Broncos.
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