Dolphins Reportedly Host Veteran Tight End on Visit

Miami will be Fant’s third visit since his release. He previously spoke with the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints. For the Dolphins, this comes on the heels of the team signing two free agent cornerbacks in Jack Jones and Mike Hilton last week. 

Dolphins’ Tight End Options

While it’s not ideal to see the team scrambling to address multiple positions of need this time of year, Fant makes a ton of sense for a team with no reliable options at tight end. 

He had 48 catches for 500 yards and one touchdown last season, and the Dolphins are trying to replace Jonnu Smith, who was traded to Pittsburgh this offseason after breaking the franchise record for catches and yards by a tight end. 

Currently, Miami’s tight end depth chart is comprised of two blockers (Julian Hill, Pharaoh Brown) and three primary pass catchers with several question marks. 

The Dolphins traded for Darren Waller, but he was retired last season and has an extensive injury history. The other two pass catchers are Tanner Conner and Jalin Conyers. The former has barely played in the regular season, and the latter is a UDFA. 

Fant is an uber-athletic tight end with good speed and ability with the ball in his hands. He’s actually much closer to Smith than anyone the Dolphins have on the roster, so his fit in the offense is pretty easy to see. 

As we mentioned above, Fant had 48 catches for 500 yards last season. To put that in perspective, Miami’s entire tight end depth chart combined for 23 catches and 181 yards in 2024.

It’s hard to think that Fant wouldn’t immediately be the most reliable pass catcher in the tight end room.

Miami’s New Money 

When Fant was initially released, we speculated that the team wouldn’t pursue him because of the cost and because the team needed to add multiple cornerbacks. 

As mentioned above, the Dolphins addressed the second issue last week. And they made a move on Sunday that opened up a good amount of cap space, as safety Minkah Fitzpatrick received a revised contract. 

The contract will move Fitzpatrick's salary for 2025 up $2 million to $17.5 million, with $15.6 million coming in 2026, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. At the same time, the Dolphins will clear up about $11 million in cap space, which will be welcome for a team that was tight under the cap.

Some of that $11 million will have to go toward Hilton and Jones, but that could be enough money to get all three on the books, given they’re signing with training camp underway.