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A former New York Jets starter is about to have a new NFL home in 2023.
NFL Insider Jordan Schultz of The Score shared on Wednesday, July 19 that the Tennessee Titans are bringing in veteran offensive tackle George Fant for a workout on Saturday.
“There’s a good chance he signs, assuming all goes well,” Schultz said on Twitter. “Starting RT Nicholas Petit-Frere is suspended for the first six games this season.”
Reflecting on Fant-Jets Journey
Fant who just turned 31 years of age spent the last three seasons with the Jets.
He signed a three-year $27 million contract on April 23 back in 2020. Fant signed thinking he would be the left tackle, but a few days later the Jets selected Mekhi Becton with the No. 11 overall pick in the first round.
That draft pick pushed Fant from the blindside to the right side. Throughout his 37 games with the Jets, he would constantly be shoved between the left and right side.
Head coach Robert Saleh called Fant’s versatility a blessing and a curse back in August of 2022.
When the Jets originally signed Fant, general manager Joe Douglas got dunked on for what was categorized as a strange unproven signing for a lot of moolah.
At the end of the day, Fant ended up proving Douglas right. He appeared in 37 games, making 36 starts, and was so pivotal in key moments for the team.
The ability to flip to either the left or right side was paramount in the middle of all of the injuries on the offensive line.
Ultimately the tension that was created by Fant never finding a true NFL home at just one singular position seemed to indicate the end of his Jets tenure last season.
Now Fant will have an opportunity to not only be on an NFL team but potentially start for the Titans in 2023.
Jets Are More Prepared Than Ever for Potential Injuries
The Jets experienced a historically wild amount of injuries on the offensive line in 2022.
Last season New York started “11 different offensive linemen” due to an array of injuries, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.
Not surprisingly the forced game of musical chairs delivered uneven results. Gang Green finished 25th in rushing and 19th in sacks allowed in 2022, per ESPN.
This offseason Douglas loaded the pantry with options to put the team in the best position possible this season.
Rivka Boord of Jets X-Factor told me during an exclusive interview on “The Boy Green Show” that she likes the depth, “they have five [offensive] tackles right now.”
You could make the argument that all five of the team’s options at the OT position could legitimately make a case as a potential starter:
Injuries are a funky thing and hard to track. However, these sorts of things normally balance out. If you had a lot of injuries on a certain side of the ball one year, in theory, you should fare much better the next season.
That isn’t an exact science by any means, but the hope is the Jets won’t have to test this offensive tackle depth in 2023 but rather have it as a break the glass emergency just in case.
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