Tag: George Fant

Texans signing Titans free-agent target George Fant

Titans free-agent target George Fant is signing with a division rival.

Not only did the Tennessee Titans not land veteran offensive tackle George Fant in free agency, he’s now going to a division rival.

According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, Fant is signing with the Houston Texans after a recent workout with the team, which followed his workout with Tennessee.

Per Aaron Wilson of Click2Houston.com, Fant is inking a one-year deal with the Texans that is worth up to $4 million.

Fant’s signing comes in the wake of the Titans reportedly signing free-agent offensive lineman Chris Hubbard, a move that made it clear Fant wasn’t going to land in Nashville.

And the reason behind that, according to AtoZ Sports’ Buck Reising, was that the Titans’ offer didn’t meet what Fant wanted.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Fant received an offer from the Titans below what he was seeking and chose to pursue other opportunities.

That’s a bit frustrating to know considering Fant didn’t end up landing any semblance of an outlandish contract from the Texans, and that’s especially true when you consider the Titans had enough cap space for said deal.

While Fant was no doubt the best option out there, Hubbard’s addition is welcomed nonetheless.

The former Cleveland Brown gives Tennessee another option for the starting right tackle competition, a role that figures to last just six games while Nicholas Petit-Frere serves his suspension.

And Hubbard is an experienced option at that, with his having nine years and 49 starts under his belt. The 32-year-old also offers versatility thanks to his experience playing guard.

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Titans worked out George Fant, Chris Hubbard

The Titans recently brought in tackles George Fant and Chris Hubbard for a workout.

Ever since the Tennessee’s starting right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere was suspended six games for a gambling violation, the Titans have been faced with coming up with a short-term solution for the position.

As first reported a few days ago, George Fant was brought in for a workout on Saturday, but it appears that the veteran lineman has some competition.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, former Browns lineman Chris Hubbard was also brought in for a workout.

Hubbard, who can play guard and tackle, is coming off a season in which he only played a total of 39 offensive snaps, allowing one sack over that short span, per Pro Football Focus.

Fant himself struggled to remain healthy in 2022, only playing in a total of eight games (with seven starts) due to a knee injury that ultimately landed him on the injured reserve list.

According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Fant and the Titans will remain in touch moving forward, with no imminent deal as of right now. However, the mutual interest is there for both parties.

Nevertheless, both of these players would be solid pickups at this point of the offseason, especially when you consider what else is out there on the open market.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see if anything comes to fruition with either players ahead of training camp.

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The NFL’s best available free agents as training camps begin

As training camps begin, and the preseason is nearly upon us, here are the best free agent players left in the NFL.

Rookies and veterans are reporting to training camps around the NFL, which means that our long national nightmare of life without professional football is nearly over. Yay, but for a lot of veterans in the league, there’s still an element of waiting by the phone to hear from their agents regarding interests from NFL teams.

Not every veteran — even veterans who are still playing at a high level — have homes when training camps start. A lot of the players listed below will find those homes before preseason games begin in early August, and some will have to wait longer. (Yes, there are veterans who would prefer to eschew training camp entirely, and that has something to do with it).

So, as we head into the pre-preseason, here are the best players who, at this point, are still looking for their new NFL destinations.

Report: Titans bringing in OT George Fant for workout

The Titans are reportedly bringing in free-agent OT George Fant for a workout this weekend.

The Tennessee Titans are reportedly on the verge of doing exactly what many fans wanted them to do, as the team is set to bring in free-agent offensive tackle George Fant for a workout.

According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, Tennessee will host the veteran tackle on Saturday. He notes there’s a “good chance” the Titans sign him, also, although it isn’t clear if that’s his speculation or something else he’s hearing.

Regardless, I agree there is a good chance, as the Titans are in need of a new starting right tackle for at least the first six games after Nicholas Petit-Frere got busted for violating the league’s gambling policy.

Fant, who has expressed interest in joining the Titans, spent the last three years with the New York Jets, appearing in 37 games (36 starts). He has experience playing both right and left tackle.

Here’s some of what we’ve written about him previously:

The Western Kentucky product battled a knee injury in 2022, which forced him to miss nine games. However, prior to last season, Fant had never missed more than two games, with the exception of 2017 when he tore his ACL.

Admittedly, Fant’s blocking numbers weren’t good last season (27 pressures, five sacks allowed,  46.7 pass-blocking grade and 56.3 run-blocking grade in eight games, per Pro Football Focus), but one has to wonder how much his injury issues played a role in that.

As recently as 2021, Fant was much better, posting a 75.1 PFF pass-blocking grade and a 59.9 run-blocking grade while also allowing 18 pressures and three sacks in 15 contests.

To compare, Petit-Frere finished with a 50.0 and 57.0 in pass-blocking and run-blocking, respectively, and he surrendered 35 pressures and five sacks during his rookie season.

If Fant signs and returns to 2021 levels, he has the potential to completely take the job away from NPF, who struggled in his rookie season. He also provides some insurance at left tackle.

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Free-agent OT George Fant says he’s ready to listen if Titans call

Free-agent OT George Fant made it clear he’s interested in joining the Titans, all they have to do is call.

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After their starting right tackle, Nicholas Petit-Frere, was suspended for six games for violating the league’s gambling policy, the Tennessee Titans need an answer at the right tackle position going into 2023.

The Titans have some in-house options, but those options are questionable at best, which has led many to wonder if Tennessee should be looking to free agency for help.

While it remains to be seen if they can even afford someone in free agency, especially after signing DeAndre Hopkins, one name that has repeatedly come up is veteran offensive tackle, George Fant.

In case you were wondering, Fant is definitely willing to listen to the Titans if they call, they just have to pick up the phone, as he said on Sunday night.

Fant, 30, spent the last three seasons with the New York Jets, starting in 36 of the 37 games in which he played, giving him far more experience than any of Tennessee’s in-house options, and even Petit-Frere himself.

The Western Kentucky product battled a knee injury in 2022, which forced him to miss nine games. However, prior to last season, Fant had never missed more than two games, with the exception of 2017 when he tore his ACL.

Admittedly, Fant’s blocking numbers weren’t good last season (27 pressures, five sacks allowed,  46.7 pass-blocking grade and 56.3 run-blocking grade in eight games, per Pro Football Focus), but one has to wonder how much his injury issues played a role in that.

As recently as 2021, Fant was much better, posting a 75.1 PFF pass-blocking grade and a 59.9 run-blocking grade while also allowing 18 pressures and three sacks in 15 contests.

To compare, Petit-Frere finished with a 50.0 and 57.0 in pass-blocking and run-blocking, respectively, and he surrendered 35 pressures and five sacks during his rookie season.

In short, not only could Fant be an upgrade over the Titans’ in-house options to replace Petit-Frere, he may also provide an upgrade over the second-year pro, also. On top of that, Fant has experience playing left tackle and could give Tennessee another option there as well.

If the Titans can make it work financially (Spotrac estimates his market value at $3.3 million annually), signing Fant is a move they should definitely make.

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Dolphins enter June with recouped Byron Jones cap space ready to spend

It’s a big day for Dolphins fans.

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June 1 is here, and for Miami Dolphins fans, it may as well be Christmas morning or the eighth night of Hanukkah wrapped into one joyous event. The gift list which Dolphins fans have been clamoring for includes a running back, offensive line help and perhaps some depth pieces in areas like linebacker or defensive line.

As of the start of this month, the salary cap money from former Miami cornerback Byron Jones has been recouped, and general manager Chris Grier and his salary cap right-hand-man, Brandon Shore, now have $13.6 million in added funds. They also free up $8.7 million for the 2024 season.

Coinciding with Miami’s salary cap increasing to about $15 million following the Jones savings, the Dolphins could do the equivalent of gifting fans the shiny toy they have been wish-listing for years.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Dolphins’ head coach Mike McDaniel was humorously coy with his knowledge of the added funds when asked.

“We are aware that that’s occurring, and we typically do everything we can to have the best team possible within the guidelines of the salary cap,” he said. “I’m not sure where, but I’d feel confident to say that we’ll make good use of that salary cap room when it comes to the start of the regular season.”

June 1 is also the date in which the Minnesota Vikings can trade or cut running back Dalvin Cook while creating their own salary cap savings. Here are the financial parameters in the difference between a trade or a cut for Minnesota.

According to Over the Cap, cutting Cook pre-June 1 would’ve left roughly $8.2 million in dead cap for Minnesota, with a savings of about $5.9 million this year. A trade, however, would’ve created $6.2 million in dead cap and savings of $7.9 million.

Now, if Cook is cut post-June 1, Minnesota would be left with a dead cap hit of $5.1 million and cap savings of $9 million. Even more intriguing financially, a post-June 1 trade would mean a dead-cap figure of just $3.1 million with savings of $11 million.

It should be noted that Miami could wait it out, and should the Vikings not find a trade suitor, and simply cut Cook, the Dolphins could sign him to a new deal. A trade to Miami would likely have to match with a reworked deal for Cook to make it economically sound for Grier and the Dolphins.

Before getting ahead of the situation the Vikings brass will decide how to handle this, and the league and fan bases will have to wait to see where the smoke clears. Yet the waiting could be hours and not days, now that we’re in June.

The table is set for Grier and Shore to scramble the books and make way for a potential new dish or two. In addition to Cook, there are a few free-agent offensive linemen out there like Dalton Risner, who played four years of left guard for the Denver Broncos to start his NFL career. Entering his fifth season, Risner once played for Miami defensive coordinator Vic Fangio when he was head coach of the Broncos just two seasons ago.

Other names on the free agent market to look for over the next few days include George Fant and D.J. Fluker, who’s looking at a potential comeback tour, having last played in the league in 2020, yet looks to be in fine physical condition.

Adding other ingredients to this mix, the Dolphins are loaded with talent, so any importing of players may simply have to match with exporting, as there are a number of “expendable” candidates on the current roster. While nothing is a guarantee regarding the potential of acquiring Cook one way or another, it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see other moves in order to make way for him and/or other additions.

Grier has been known to make a minor move prior to a bigger move, and at times, he moves swiftly with multiple deals days or even hours apart in his history as head front office executive in Miami.

Of course, the Dolphins could start utilizing the money to help in the long-term extension process with their defensive linemen duo of Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler. Nevertheless, the money is extremely important to get back into their capital ledger, and when looking at the absence of Jones, you can simply add in replacements like the newly acquired Jalen Ramsey and rookie Cam Smith as the cornerback cherries on top of the salary cap savings.

Thursday, June 1 is here, and many Dolphins fans will be rushing to social media and news outlets to see when, or if, their shiny new gift has been purchased…or if it’s simply another home-knit sweater from your favorite aunt.

Regardless, this Miami team is already one of the most talented groups seen in South Florida since the early 1990s on both sides of the ball. The current Dolphins aren’t on the field today, but they’re back at it with OTAs on Friday, June 2.

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PFF suggests Titans sign OT George Fant in free agency

PFF suggests the Titans sign Jets OT George Fant in free agency.

The Tennessee Titans will have multiple spots to address along the offensive line in 2023, with one of them being at left tackle with the team expected to cut Taylor Lewan following another injury-shortened season.

Tennessee will no doubt fill some of their offensive line holes in the 2023 NFL draft, but before that they’ll try their hand in free agency in March.

In an article by Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger, he suggested the Titans sign New York Jets pending free agent and offensive tackle, George Fant. Here’s his take:

If Taylor Lewan returns, Tennessee can slot Fant in at right tackle. And as Fant showed during his time with the New York Jets, he could play left tackle while Lewan is on the mend and then kick back over, adding to his value with this particular fit. Fant dealt with injuries throughout 2022, and his poor grades reflected his health, but he earned a career-high 75.1 pass-blocking grade in 2021 playing almost exclusively on the blindside. 

Guard Nate Davis is a good run blocker and a rare bright spot for this Titans offensive line in 2022, and with veteran center Ben Jones battling through injuries in his age-33 season, perhaps he plans to retire before 2023 and it becomes more of a priority for the Titans to maintain some continuity along the interior of their offensive line.

There is almost no chance Lewan returns to Nashville. He simply hasn’t been able to stay healthy and the Titans can no longer depend on him to be their left tackle. Adding to that, he’ll account for a $14.8 million cap charge that can be totally washed out away if he’s let go.

Addressing another point Spielberger made, I don’t think the Titans give up on Nicholas Petit-Frere this quickly. If Tennessee brings in a tackle, it’ll be for the left side.

Fant played 309 snaps at right tackle and 207 at left tackle in 2022, so he can play both spots. However, he also gave up five sacks over the eight games (seven starts) he played and tallied PFF grades of 46.7 and 56.3 in pass-blocking and run-blocking, respectively.

To compare, Dennis Daley posted a 45.5 and 46.5 in those two categories.

As Spielberger notes, Fant was dealing with injury last season, so that might have impacted his numbers. In 2021, Fant posted a solid 75.1 pass-blocking grade and 59.9 run-blocking grade in 15 starts, while also allowing one sack.

That would definitely be an upgrade over the disaster the Titans had last year, but so would just about anything else.

If the Titans are going to go for a left tackle in free agency, it should be a big splash signing, like for Kansas City Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown. That would prove very costly, but it’s the kind of impact move Tennessee needs.

If that isn’t in the cards, the Titans are better off trying their hand with a top tackle from this year’s draft as opposed to a middling veteran in free agency. This team needs an elite, long-term solution, not a band-aid.

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Sheldon Rankins, Connor McGovern among top 100 free agents from Pro Football Focus

Which free agents do the Jets need to re-sign?

The New York Jets are going to have key decisions to make, not just with free agents on the outside — not to mention which quarterback they will try to sign or trade for — but with their own free agents. One key free agent for the team is the running mate this past season of Quinnen Williams. We’re of course talking about defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins.

Pro Football Focus recently unveiled their top 100 free agents with projected contracts and coming in at No. 63 was Rankins, who is coming off a fine season for the Jets in 2022. Rankins recorded 43 tackles and three sacks with one forced fumble in 15 games.

Rankins has 191 career tackles and 23.5 career sacks across seven seasons (two with the Jets, five with the Saints).

PFF projects Rankins’ deal to be for two years worth $12 million with $8 million guaranteed.

Rankins signed a two-year deal with the Jets after the former first-rounder’s rookie contract expired in New Orleans. He had a strong start to the 2022 season before briefly going down with an injury but returned to finish the year on a stout Jets defensive front. Rankins’ 73.1 overall grade is the second-best mark of his career, with his 33 tackles a new high watermark. Rankins is solid both as a run defender and pass rusher but isn’t special in either facet. Nevertheless, he’s a solid target this offseason as a cheaper interior defender with the top of the market set to explode to new heights.

Two offensive linemen also made the list for the Jets: No. 73 Connor McGovern and No. 97 George Fant.

McGovern will be interesting to see if the Jets decide to re-sign him. He was a top-ten center at PFF in 2022 and has been in the top half of centers over the past two seasons.

McGovern signed a three-year, $27 million deal with the New York Jets during his first go-around in free agency and will look to get as close to that number once again.

The veteran center has logged roughly 1,000 snaps in five straight seasons. His 74.7 grade over the past two years ranks 13th among centers, his 69.8 pass-blocking grade places 16th and his 76.9 run-blocking grade comes in at 13th. He offers a high floor as a solid zone run blocker and could be an asset to a team with a young quarterback.

McGovern is projected to get close to his previous contract with the Jets. PFF projects a three-year, $22.5 million deal with $12.5 million guaranteed after initially signing a three-year, $27 million deal with the Jets.

As for Fant, while he did his best plugging the holes at tackle this season, the Jets may be better served letting him walk in free agency with the potential of getting Alijah Vera-Tucker and Mekhi Becton back and adding help via the draft. They also have Max Mitchell as a backup option.

PFF projects Fant’s contract to be for $11 million over two years with $7.25 million guaranteed.

Fant struggled with injuries and once again moved back and forth between right and left tackle, an unfortunate development after a career year in 2021 had him looking for an extension before the season began.

The seventh-year tackle earned a career-high 75.1 pass-blocking grade in 2021, playing almost exclusively at left tackle. His 3.2% pressure rate allowed the sixth-lowest among tackles on the season.

Fant will be 31 years old in 2023, and at worst he is a reliable swing tackle who has plenty of experience over the last two years on either side of the line. He just needs to get back to full health.

George Fant talks Year Up partnership, defense and playing both tackle positions

George Fant talks Year Up partnership, defense and playing both tackle positions

Recently, many members of the NFL took part in “My Cause My Cleats”, where players wore customized cleats that show support and raise awareness for their favorite organizations.

New York Jets offensive tackle George Fant was one of those players in Week 13. Fant’s organization is called Year Up, “a tuition-free job training program that helps young adults between the ages of 18-29 across the nation receive professional and career training.”

Fant sat down with Jets Wire to discuss his connection with Year Up and what it means to him and the potential of the organization.

Year Up is a nonprofit who focuses on young adults and youth and helping them get job training. It is free job training and helping them get placements in internships at really good companies. And it was just one of those, one of those deals where, for myself, I just felt that it was a good connection for myself and my foundation because that’s what we like to do. We like to help our youth in our community and help them be able to grow and build their lives. And I thought that that was just a great opportunity to team up with a nonprofit who has the same kind of outlook on life that we have and kind of the same values as well. So that was kind of the main reasons why we wanted to partner up with Year Up.

It’s a great organization. I think they’re goals and with the things that they’re doing in the community and helping people build their lives and helping them find direction in their lives. And for myself, I think that the things that can be happening next with us is just more partnerships and more things that we’re doing and being more active and stuff with Year Up. So it’s a good opportunity for myself to partner with another good nonprofit.

Fant said he loves the things they’re doing and how they help people and build more partnerships. Some of those partnerships and internships include Bank of America, Uber, Sony and Buzzfeed.

I’m just happy to partner with them and do anything with them. We’re definitely going to do some more stuff with them here in their future. We love to see what they’re doing with the youth in our community and the young youth in our community. So definitely looking forward to doing more partnerships with Year Up.

Fant also shared his thoughts on the Jets defense and getting to face that defense every day in practice.

You got Sauce and D.J. man, they’re playing lights out right now. Our defense in general is just I think one of the top defenses in NFL right now. They’re putting their work in every single day. I knew that this year, this summer, we practiced against them every day in training camp thatwe had one of the best defensive lines and obviously one of the best defenses in the NFL. And then, you throw Quinnen Williams in there who I think should be in the running for defensive player of the year as well. That dude’s a beast man. Like, he’s unblockable. So those dudes are just holding it down. And I know for us in offense, we’re just trying to make sure we do our part for the defense and be able to hold it down for them. So yeah, that’s definitely one of the best defenses in the NFL right now. They’re ready to go knock these games out and win these next ones.

Fant also shared some insight on the differences between playing left and right tackle following his shifting during training camp due to the injury to Mekhi Becton and the signing of Duane Brown.

Yeah, it’s obviously it is not easy to do that, man. It’s one of those situations where I would just kind of say that it the toughest part of it is just your body. Your strengths your dominant hand. The way that you have to be able to set at certain angles or get to certain point to make contact. It’s a whole lot of different things that go with making that switch from left to right. I’m blessed to be able to do it because I’ve been in different situations where I’ve had to do it. So just being able to be happy to be able to do both positions and to be able to do whatever the team needs me to do, to go out there and get a win. So, it is not easy, but I’m willing to do it.

The Jets have done more winning this season than in their last two seasons combined and head coach Robert Saleh has been one of the biggest reasons for that, including the culture he has brought to the Jets.

Yeah, I would just say that he brought a culture of winning, a winning mindset to New York, to New Jersey here with us. It was just a situation where he came in and he’s implementing his culture here and obviously the first year it took us a little bit, but this year I think he had a lot of got, you added a lot of young guys who came in and they brought right in. And then you mixed that with some vets who’ve been in good situations before. We know a leader when we found one man, and when you see one and Coach Saleh’s a leader. So. I think for us, I think we just expect every game to go in and win. So, that’s probably one of the bigger things that he brought here.

One of those young guys that have been brought in is undrafted free agent Zonovan Knight, who has started taking over as the lead back in the running back room for the Jets and Fant loves what the Jets have in Bam.

I think Bam’s a perfect person that we just kind of talked about, you know, somebody who was ready for their opportunity. I got to see Bam and watch him while I was rehabbing for those eight weeks that I was out. I got to watch him. Obviously just work every single day, man, take the extra time and go out there and put some extra work in and get ready for his opportunity whenever it came. And now he has opportunity. He’s playing at a really high level. That’s what this league’s about, man, being able to be ready. It’s a one play away league man. So that guy’s just working and, and we’re kind of getting to see what happens when you put that work in. And he’s getting every opportunity and he’s taking every single one of them. So happy to see him go out there and get them opportunities and, and take advantage of them.

As Fant and the Jets prep for their stretch run, if you want to learn more about Fant’s partnership, please visit YearUp.org for more information.

Max Mitchell placed on non-football injury list, out for season

Max Mitchell’s season is over

New York Jets’ offensive tackle Max Mitchell has been placed on the non-football injury list and is out for the rest of the season.

Head coach Robert Saleh did not get into specifics on the injury. He would just say that Mitchell’s season is over.

As a result, George Fant is back entrenched as the starting right tackle. Fant took over for Mitchell during Sunday’s loss to the Vikings as Mitchell was struggling.

With Fant as the starter and Mitchell and Cedric Ogbuehi out, Mike Remmers is the backup to Fant at right tackle.