Report: Offensive tackle George Fant signs with the New York Jets
After a day of seeing the top offensive tackles come off the NFL free agency board, the New York Jets finally landed someone to begin the revamping of their offensive line.
Goerge Fant is now a Jet, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday night. The Jets landed the former Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle, signing him to a 3-year contract worth $30 million according to Schefter.
Entering his fifth season in the NFL, Fant will turn 28-years old during training camp. He has 46 appearances with 24 starts.
He remains a bit of a project, having never played college football at Western Kentucky until his fifth and final season at the school. Originally a member of the Western Kentucky basketball team, Fant has made a solid transition to football. He has tremendous footwork but has been used primarily as a blocking tight end and a backup offensive tackle throughout his four seasons in Seattle, although he does have significant starting experience.
Last year according to Pro Football Focus, he played in 462 snaps and allowed two sacks.
The newest Jets lineman joins a unit that is going through a drastic overhaul. The line has been ignored over the last five years by previous Jets management regimes and rebuilding the line has become a priority for general manager Joe Douglas in his first full offseason with the team.
Only guard Brian Winters remains under contract from the group of offensive linemen who started for the Jets last year in Week 1.
While the offensive line is a pressing need, the start to free agency saw the Jets miss out on several big names among the available guards and tackles.
Earlier on Monday, shortly after legal tampering began at noon local time, the New England Patriots placed the franchise tag on guard Joe Thuney, rumored to be a target of the Jets. By mid-afternoon, the Cleveland Browns signed tackle Jack Conklin to a three-year, $42 million contract, again taking a top offensive lineman off the board.
By late afternoon, D.J. Humphries and Halapoulivaati Vaitai were also signed.
