Mike Macdonald sounds off on release of ex-Seahawks TE Noah Fant

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said the release of Fant was a business decision.

Dec 4, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant (87) celebrates his touchdown scored against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Even though it wasn't exactly surprising, the Seattle Seahawks made a huge move on Sunday by releasing starting tight end Noah Fant to free up nearly $9 million in cap space.

Fant had been the starter since Seattle traded for him ahead of the 2022 season, but he never produced more than 500 yards receiving in a single season despite primarily being a pass-catching tight end. The tight end room has now been left to a far less-experienced-but-promising group.

When speaking to the media following the Seahawks' first training camp practice on Wednesday, head coach Mike Macdonald was vague about the decision to move on from Fant.

Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant (87) celebrates after a first down against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half at Lumen Field. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

"I didn’t have any conversations with him," Macdonald said. "It’s just understood that [it’s] what we’re trying to achieve as a football team. We love Noah, wish him the best, but we also love the guys that are still here, and they know what’s at stake. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch that competition in the tight end room."

Macdonald was probed once again for the reasoning behind Fant's release: “We just released him a few days ago. I’m not going to tell you exactly why; there’s multiple reasons,” the second-year Seahawks coach said.

Fant's release will be oddly timed if they don't make another move at some point during training camp or extend other players. There's no reason why they couldn't have just had him play this season and then opt not to re-sign him unless they wanted that cap now or there was an underlying motivation that Macdonald isn't willing to discuss. It could've also just been that they wanted to provide opportunities to the younger players like AJ Barner and Elijah Arroyo.

Either way, the competition now consists of Barner, Arroyo, Eric Saubert, Brady Russell (in addition to his opportunities at fullback) and two undrafted free agents.

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