After free agency and the NFL draft, Denver Broncos general manager George Paton will have to make a decision on tight end Noah Fant.
Because he was a first-round draft pick in 2019, Fant is eligible for a fifth-year option for the 2023 season. The one-year option will be worth $6.657 million, according to OverTheCap.com.
The deadline to pick up Fant’s option is May 2, and the Broncos are in no rush to make a decision, but they do want him part of the team going forward.
“We have a little time with that,” Paton said at the NFL combine on Tuesday. “Noah is a really talented player, and we want him here a long time.”
Had Fant made the Pro Bowl in any of his first three seasons, the 2023 option would have been $9.332 million (and more than one Pro Bowl nod would have bumped it to $10.834 million). Fant’s option would have been $6.253 million if he had played less than 50% of the offensive snaps since 2019.
As contracts currently stand, Fant would be the 13th-highest paid tight end in 2023 if the Broncos pick up his option. Even if Fant hasn’t quite lived to some fans’ expectations, that’s not a bad value for a player who ranked sixth in receptions and 10th in receiving yards among tight ends last season.
Fant has hauled in 170 receptions for 1,905 yards and 10 touchdowns through his first three years in the NFL (47 games).
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