Report: Seahawks exercising fifth year option of Noah Fant

With just under three weeks until the May 2 deadline to exercise fifth year options for players drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks have wasted no time getting right to things.

Noah Fant, of course, was acquired from the Denver Broncos as part of the trade that sent Russell Wilson packing to burn down some other team’s kitchen, and now, at least according to Adam Schefter, Fant is under contract with the Seahawks for the next two seasons.

Under the 2020 collective bargaining agreement, Fant’s 2023 salary will be $6.85M, as a result of having played more than 50% of the snaps for which the Donkeys offense was on the field during his three years in Denver. In addition, under the new CBA, Fant’s 2023 salary is now on the books as fully guaranteed. That salary amount is right in line with the $7M paid to Greg Olsen in 2020, as well as the $6M to Gerald Everett in 2021, while also coming in just below the $8M average per year they recently gave to Will Dissly, meaning the exercise of the option does not come as much of a surprise.

So, for the first time in franchise history Seattle has exercised a fifth year option, and it happened to be for a player who was drafted by a different team, rather than the Hawks. Now the next logical question becomes when it will be reported that the team is declining the $9.594M fifth year option on their own 2019 first round pick, L.J. Collier.