Former Broncos First-Round Pick Released by Seahawks

Former Denver Broncos first-round draft pick, tight end Noah Fant, has been released by the Seattle Seahawks, the team announced Sunday on the doorstep of training camp.

The 20th choice of the 2019 draft, Fant spent his first three seasons in the Mile High City, recording 170 catches for 1,905 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns across 47 games, including 41 starts. He was the club's unquestioned TE1 (when healthy) until 2022.

That year, the Iowa product was packaged along with defensive end Shelby Harris, quarterback Drew Lock, and multiple high-round selections as part of the now-infamous Russell Wilson megadeal.

Fant made 48 starts during his stint in Seattle, compiling 1,400 yards and only five scores on 130 receptions. His release, which creates $9.8 million in salary cap room for the Seahawks, was purportedly due in part to financial considerations.

"In addition to freeing up salary cap space, Fant's release will also mean more opportunities for second-year tight end AJ Barner, rookie Elijah Arroyo and veteran free-agent addition Eric Saubert. The Seahawks also have a pair of undrafted rookie tight ends on the roster, Marshall Lang and Nick Kallerup," Seahawks reporter John Boyle wrote Sunday.

Sent to the free-agent market, Fant is unlikely to resurface this season with the Broncos, who have Evan Engram atop the depth chart and several players -- Adam Trautman, Lucas Krull, Nate Adkins, Caleb Lohner -- entrenched beneath him.

“We’ve talked about it for two years now, the interior triangle of your passing game [is] the tight end, the running back and the third receiver," head coach Sean Payton explained in March. "When you’re seeing a lot of these coverage shell looks, those positions have to thrive. The very logistical answer to your question is [TE Evan] Engram is closer to [QB] Bo [Nix] than the receivers sometime. The matchups inside—it’s hard to play that position if you’re not able to attack the interior triangle of some of the looks we’re getting defensively. This helps Bo.”