Seattle Seahawks’ general manager John Schneider recently offered a glimpse into his thinking in releasing veteran tight end Noah Fant at the start of training camp. Nothing he said sent shock waves through the NFL. But the fact that he said anything at all points out something about Schneider.
You see, John Schneider is a good guy. There are GMs who would have let the Fant dismissal go without explanation. Even where asked by the press, GM 101 advises that you use the following line:
“We thought it was in the best interest of our team going forward.”
Of all the non-answer answers that coaches and GMs are known to spout, this is the most common and most maddening. Wouldn’t you love to hear – just one time – a higher up say, “We know this may hurt the club, but that guy has some seriously questionable tastes in music and I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
What did Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider say about the release of Noah Fant?
Schneider went further. He explained that Fant’s release came as the result of a “pure salary cap situation.”
That is indeed a real reason. But it still leaves another enormous question unanswered. To wit, Seattle does not currently have a salary cap issue.
Most cap casualties come from teams that are either over the cap or dangerously close. They have no room to maneuver in the event of an injury. Or if a player of interest becomes available. Their hand is forced by league rules and the fragility of roster health.
Schneider jettisoned most of his big-money contracts this offseason. Trading Geno Smith and DK Metcalf, and getting Tyler Lockett’s expiring contract off the books has already generated more than 50 million dollars in cap savings for this year.
Schneider has spent some of that money, but it has mostly gone to bargains. Sam Darnold’s contract is low by NFL standards. The other free agents he brought in have been mid or lower-tier guys. The bottom line is that Seattle currently has plenty of cap room, in the top ten in the entire league.
Schneider expects to put some of that money into extending players like Charles Cross and Devon Witherspoon in the near future. But Noah Fant’s salary simply wasn’t all that high to begin with. I mean, it’s relative, right? Ten million dollars is a lot of money, even in the NFL. But that’s right around what the Rams are paying Colby Parkinson.
Parkinson is a few years younger than Fant, but he hasn’t exactly set the league on fire. Still, he is the Rams’ 6th biggest salary cap hit, just as Fant was in Seattle. The Rams currently have far less cap space than Seattle and also have a bevy of young stars they will need to pay soon.
What’s more, the Rams spent their top pick in this year’s draft on a tight end. Still, Colby Parkinson isn’t going anywhere.
So, John Schneider can take the high road and say Noah Fant was cut because of the salary cap, and there may be some truth in the statement. But it isn’t complete. Noah Fant was cut because of his performance. The Seahawks wanted to do better.
Drafting A.J. Barner in 2024 didn’t seal Fant’s fate. But drafting Elijah Arroyo this year did. Arroyo is a quality receiving tight end prospect. It’s not surprising that Fant’s release came shortly after Arroyo signed his rookie deal.
Schneider also admitted very accurately that injury risk played a role in the timing of the release. Had Fant gotten hurt in training camp, the Hawks would have owed him money and taken the corresponding cap hit.
Still, the bottom line remains. If you have a starter in whom you believe, he is under contract at a mid-tier price, and you are not cash-strapped, you don’t release that player unless you are certain you have multiple better options available.
Schneider could have waited to see how Arroyo progressed or to have a backup plan in case of injury. He didn’t have to make the move at this point unless he knew Noah Fant had no future in Seattle.
Schneider graciously predicted that Fant would have a great year with a new team in 2025. It looks as if that new team will be the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals lost their promising young tight end Erick All, Jr., to injury and don’t have much behind starter Mike Gesicki. If Fant does wind up with the Bengals this year, it will almost certainly be as a backup to Gesicki, competing with a couple of Tanners – Hudson and McLachlan – for snaps opposite in-line blocking tight end Drew Sample.
Sources: Former Broncos first-round pick Noah Fant, sent to Seattle as part of the Russell Wilson trade, is expected to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals. pic.twitter.com/48N7glgufF
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 31, 2025
GMs get nowhere by bad-mouthing the players they cut. It’s unprofessional and unproductive. I would not expect Schneider to say Fant simply didn’t meet the expectations we had for the position, and we think we can do better. It was nice of him to provide the salary cap explanation because he didn’t have to. But it wasn’t really the reason for the move.