Tight end Noah Fant bypasses Dolphins, giving Miami’s current group a lifeline — but someone must now level up in camp before time runs out
Free agent tight end Noah Fant has made his choice. The Dolphins’ tight ends can breathe easy but the time is now to level up.
The Miami Dolphins’ tight end room can collectively exhale this morning. One of the few overachieving position rooms of the 2024 season is already going to look dramatically different this season thanks to the marquee player, Jonnu Smith, being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the beginning of the month. And, amid all the change, the Dolphins presumably teased the idea of throwing another wrench at the tight end position this week.
The Dolphins hosted tight end Noah Fant on a free agent visit at the beginning of the week, marking the end of a three-team tour that took Fant from New Orleans to Cincinnati and then to Miami. Fant made his decision this morning — he’s headed to the Bengals.
Dolphins tight ends put on notice, now must put the gas pedal down
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel described the team’s visit with Fant as a product of “mutual interest” when he was asked about it on Wednesday. Needless to say, if the Dolphins’ tight end room was blowing people away, there wouldn’t be mutual interest in an external option. NFL insiders announced this morning that the Bengals are signing Fant to a one-year deal in 2025, which leaves the door in Miami plenty open for the collection of names assembled to step up in the weeks ahead. Fant’s athleticism and run after catch ability would have been a suitable replacement for Jonnu Smith, had he committed to Miami.
It is somewhat hard for the Dolphins to get a gauge on what they have in that regard. Neither Pharaoh Brown or Julian Hill are prolific receiving weapons. Darren Waller was in his prime, but the former Raider and Giant is currently spending his days at the team facility working on the side with a Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list designation. It is a part of the team’s plan to onboard Waller into playing shape after he sat out 2024 while retired.
As much as this team has tried to make their own flex weapon happen in the form of Tanner Conner, they’d need a miracle for it to come together now. Conner has been with the team as an undrafted rookie since 2022 and has three career receptions. The team seems to like his potential, but he’s struggled with both health and mental errors. As a former college receiver, his transition to playing tight end has been a difficult one.
Conner, Waller, Brown, and Hill will all get another lease on life in 2025 with Fant’s decision to bypass Miami. There simply aren’t a lot of starting caliber tight ends available. Maybe that changes with the player cuts at the end of the preseason. But with the complexities of Miami’s offense and the assignments the tight end room must carry, a late addition would be working behind the 8-ball.
And so the tight end room will continue to chug along with the same contenders as before. The questions for Miami is which one steps up to the plate and commands to be a piece of the identity of this offense in 2025? Through the first week and a half of training camp, there’s been no signs of anyone assuming that spot. And it needs to change — or else the Dolphins will have eyes for the next tight end who shakes loose, too.
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