Should Dolphins Pursue Recently Released Tight End?

The Miami Dolphins tight end room is lacking some punch. 

After trading away Jonnu Smith to the Steelers and acquiring the recently unretired Darren Waller, there are a lot of questions about what the Dolphins will do with their tight ends this season. 

That’s why it’s interesting that a potential upgrade became available on Sunday afternoon. The Seattle Seahawks released tight end Noah Fant, who had 48 catches for 500 yards and one touchdown last season. 

Fant, 27, has been a relatively productive pass catcher since being dealt to the Seahawks from the Broncos in the Russell Wilson trade. Let’s look at how Fant could fit with the Dolphins and whether it makes sense for them to pursue him. 

Fant vs. Miami’s Current Tight Ends 

It’s hard to think that Fant wouldn’t immediately be the most reliable pass catcher in the tight end room. Waller was a much better player during his tenure with the Raiders, but he struggled with injuries and spent last season retired. 

As much as Waller’s connection to offensive coordinator Frank Smith from their time with the Raiders should make fans feel better about Waller’s commitment to football, players who retire for an entire season and then return to football don’t have the best track record. 

Waller has to get back into football shape, learn the Dolphins offense, and deal with the fact that he’s now older. 

Fant is younger and still in football shape, given that he played last season. 

The rest of Miami’s tight ends aren’t even close to Fant. Tanner Conner has never been an impact player, Jalin Conyers is a UDFA, and Julian Hill and Pharaoh Brown are blockers. 

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. 

To say Fant would be an improvement in that department would be an understatement. 

Why Fant Joining the Dolphins Is Unlikely 

As much as we think Fant would help the Dolphins’ offense this season, the team isn’t really in a great position to bring him in. 

For starters, they’re are still missing a veteran cornerback addition. There have been consistent reports about the team speaking with players like Rasul Douglas and Asante Samuel Jr., even if nothing seems overly imminent. 

The truth is that cornerback is far more important than tight end. Whether taking a gamble Waller works out, Fant and Waller would heavily conflict with each other. The Dolphins' tight end room isn’t impressive, but they’ve proven the passing offense doesn’t need much production from that spot. 

What it does need is better blocking, and Fant won’t offer much in that regard. 

Cornerback is just a much more dire need, especially considering the team needs two starters. Kader Kohou can cover either one outside spot or the slot role, but the other two will be left to a group of unproven or struggling players. 

Another consideration is the cost of signing Fant. He likely won’t demand much, but the Dolphins also don’t have a ton to work with. 

Different sources have the Dolphins with varying amounts of cap space, but all of them agree they don’t have much. The NFLPA has the Dolphins at just over $2.2 million, Spotrac has the team at just more than $1.2 million, and Over The Cap has Miami with just more than $1.9 million. 

The team can create a little more space, but assuming it’s more concerned about the cornerback position, it might be challenging to sign a veteran defensive back, Fant, and have enough money to operate during the season. 

Is it impossible? No, but it does seem unlikely.