Field Gulls
It’s been just over two weeks since the Seattle Seahawks released Noah Fant, the starter at tight end for the team in each of the past three seasons since his acquisition from the Denver Broncos in the Russell Wilson trade.
There had certainly been questions regarding why the team opted to move on from Fant on the eve of training camp, though when queried on the matter head coach Mike Macdonald had opted not to get into the specifics.
With Macdonald not providing insight on the subject, those covering the team were left continuing their search for answers, and on Monday general manager John Schneider pulled back the curtain a little bit on with Seattle Sports.
For those who may not be able to access the video or listen to the audio for whatever reason, the most pertinent portion of Schneider’s response was as follows:
We just felt like in getting back to what I was saying about doing what is best for the organization, we were at a point where we were just saying to ourselves, ‘Okay, you know, can we, unfortunately you have to look at things like this, can we use that cash to help our team in a different manner? And are we okay at that position? Are we covered there?’
From there Schneider went on to discuss the expected roles of others on the roster at the position, including Robbie Outzs, while also noting the expected special teams contributions of Eric Saubert. Thus, piecing things together, the Seahawks appear content with the talent they have at tight end, and the price tag for Fant was simply too much.
Schneider goes on to discuss cap space, but it’s hard to buy into the idea that Seattle moved on from Fant because they wanted to have $35M of cap space rather than $26M. More realistically, the team moved on because after the significant cash needs of the offseason, including the signings of Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp, Demarcus Lawrence and Grey Zabel, as well as exercising the fifth year option of Charles Cross.
For those curious, this is not the first time that Schneider has specifically referenced cash as a reason for moving on from a veteran. In the wake of releasing defensive lineman Al Woods in the spring of 2023, Schneider noted that the move was made for reasons of both cap and cash.
This is not an unexpected development as the team continues to work back to what would be considered a normal operating budget after the cash flow constraints that resulted from the revenue shortfall from the 2020 NFL season. Exactly how long the cash constraints will continue will vary from team to team, but they should ease with each passing season as teams retire more of the financial obligations incurred in order to cover the revenue shortfall.
For now, though, the key point when it comes to the release of Fant is simply that he wasn’t worth the $8.91M the team was set...
