The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to terms with former Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle George Fant.
After staying quiet through the first wave of free agency, the New York Jets are finally on the board. According to reports, they have agreed on a deal with former Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle George Fant.
Former Seahawks’ OT George Fant reached agreement with the Jets on a three-year, $30 million deal that includes $13.7 million guaranteed, per @JFowlerESPN and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2020
Fant signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent out of Western Kentucky in 2016. He has played in 46 career regular-season games and five playoff games. 28 of those were considered starts, but Fant only started and fully-played in 18 of those. He has often been used as a swing tackle/extra offensive lineman for Seattle, participating in 25.6 snaps per game in 2019.
Here is a quick snapshot of what Fant brings to the table.
Fant has mostly played left tackle when lining up along the regular front-five. His career track record is not the best, although he showed flashes over a small sample in 2018. Fant primarily played right tackle that year.
Only $13.7 million of Fant’s deal is guaranteed, so the Jets have not committed a ton of money to him. However, it is a bit puzzling they would go with such an unproven player as their first move towards reconstructing the offensive line.
It appears Fant is poised to slot in as a starter at either tackle spot should the Jets fail to fill one of them with either a rookie or another outside addition. If the Jets do somehow find a viable starter on both sides, Fant could be used in his typical role as an extra lineman or simply provide depth for either side.
This is only the first of many moves to come for Joe Douglas and company as the offseason develops. Give things time to develop, and remember that we will not have a read on how effective any of these moves are until years down the line.
