Cincinnati Bengals tight end Noah Fant (86) catches a pass during warmups before the first quarter of the NFL Week 11 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What Noah Fant's Exit Means For Cincinnati Bengals 2026 Tight End Room

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bengals on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Mar 9, 2026 5:54 PM ET

The Bengals will have to dig deeper into their tight end hierarchy moving forward in 2026.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Noah Fant is signing a two-year deal with the Saints.

"Another weapon for the Saints: They’ve agreed to terms with Noah Fant on a two-year deal, sources tell Ian Rapoport and me," Pelissero posted on X.

Exit Impact

Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Fant caught 34 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns last season as a part of Cincinnati's tight end rotation. It amounted to a 56.4 Pro Football Focus grade on 379 snaps. That latter number is notable.

Fant played the second-most tight end snaps for the Bengals last season and could be replaced by the returning Erick All in the tight end room, but that's not given.

Cincinnati is mostly set on offense, but they could add to the tight end spot as they hope for better health out of Mike Gesicki, who played the third-most tight end snaps at 321. He missed four games due to injury last season. Drew Sample led the way with 593 snaps.

Regardless of their tight end plans, Cincinnati has added new stars on defense already, less than 12 hours into the legal tampering period.

"2021 and 2022? I'm kind of forward-looking, so I'm trying to think of exactly what all happened in those years," Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said about the team's plans at the 2026 NFL Combine. "But yeah, we're going to attack it, you know, and try to build our roster from all sources. And the draft is one of those sources; free agency is another. Perhaps re-signing some of our impending free agents is another, extensions, so they don't get to free agency, is another way to do it, but we're going to look at all areas, and we're going to try to attack this offseason and fit our needs with the right people. And that's what our focus is, and we're excited about it because we have resources to go out and do some things."

Fant moves on after one season in Cincinnati as the team gets ready to welcome back Erick All to playing action in the coming months.

This article first appeared on Cincinnati Bengals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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