Did NY Jets mess up by letting veteran offensive free agent walk?
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By: Michael Nania
The New York Jets are probably wishing George Fant was still around
With the New York Jets’ 2023 playoff hopes already on life support, it’s hard not to start thinking back to some of the decisions in the offseason that led New York to this unfortunate position.
The Jets’ mishandling of the offensive line is one of the first problems that come to mind. Beyond the injury to Aaron Rodgers, the Jets’ poor offensive line is arguably the second-biggest reason for the team’s current predicament.
And when looking back at the Jets’ offensive line malpractice, their decision to let George Fant walk is a move that stands out as a potential solution they seemingly passed up.
After showing immense faith in Fant by giving him a three-year, $27.3 million contract in 2020 despite the fact that he was a backup for most of his career, Joe Douglas seemed to have lost his faith in Fant by 2023, strangely letting him walk to Houston for a cheap one-year deal worth up to $4 million even though the Jets were in dire need of help at tackle.
Did the Jets make a mistake by not re-signing Fant?
Let’s dive back into the Jets’ offensive line decisions in the offseason.
The Jets’ puzzling offseason approach to the offensive line
Yes, the offensive line woes in 2023 have occurred largely due to injuries. However, the Jets set themselves up for this when they mysteriously chose to mostly ignore the offensive line in the offseason.
Despite the unit being a clear need after 2022, the Jets barely added to it. Their only major addition was the selection of Joe Tippmann in the second round. Other than that, the Jets were content to run it back with essentially the same unit that suffered from production and plenty of injuries in 2022. Thus, the injuries and bad play from this year’s unit are no surprise at all.
It’s at offensive tackle where the Jets’ approach was the most baffling.
The Jets entered the 2023 offseason needing two starting offensive tackles if the situation was viewed objectively (rather than with green-shaded goggles that only show the best-case outcomes). Mekhi Becton had just missed his second consecutive full season and could not be trusted as a realistic starting option. Duane Brown battled injuries throughout the 2022 season and struggled when on the field. At age 38, he did not seem like an ideal player to have as a starter in front of Aaron Rodgers.
Yet, the Jets chose to ignore adding any offensive tackles with starter-quality talent. Their only notable additions were Billy Turner, a backup-quality player, and Carter Warren, a developmental fourth-round pick. The Jets were more than happy to ride with Becton and Brown in the starting lineup.
The Jets have reaped what they sowed at offensive tackle. Brown only lasted two games before getting injured and was awful when on the field. He seems to be on the verge of returning, but it would be unrealistic to expect him to suddenly start playing well considering his body of work as a Jet.
Becton managed to last 10 games before missing his first game and should return soon, but has not played all that well despite unsubstantiated hype. He has allowed pressure on 8.1% of his pass-blocking snaps, ranking 57th out of 71 qualified tackles. Becton is also tied for the fifth-most sacks allowed among tackles (6) and the seventh-most penalties (8). His mistakes are often costly, as he has yielded two strip-sacks and a safety. This post-injury version of Becton does not show the same dominant upside he did as a rookie.
The Jets’ neglect of the offensive tackle spot was utterly baffling considering the lucrative investment they had made in a 39-year-old starting quarterback. Now, they are getting out of the position exactly what they put into it: almost nothing.
Where did the Jets go wrong? How did they possibly allow themselves to think a Brown-Becton tackle duo would work?
There are numerous players the Jets could have attempted to add instead of settling for Brown and Becton. Among those options, one of the most realistically attainable was a player from their own team: George Fant.
Fant became an unrestricted free agent in 2023 following the conclusion of his three-year contract with the Jets. In hindsight, the Jets’ decision not to bring back Fant is a puzzling one. As a disclaimer, we obviously do not know whether the Jets tried to bring back Fant or if he would have even been interested, but nevertheless, it’s starting to look like the Jets missed out by letting Fant walk,
It cannot be forgotten that Fant had a stellar season for the Jets back in 2021. In fact, it was one of the best seasons by any Jets offensive lineman in recent history.
That year, Fant allowed pressure on just 3.0% of his pass-blocking snaps, ranking as the third-lowest rate in the NFL among left tackles. Fant set a new record for the lowest pressure rate allowed in a season by a Jets offensive tackle since Pro Football Focus began tracking pressure stats in 2006, beating Damien Woody’s record for all Jets tackles (3.17% in 2008) and D’Brickashaw Ferguson’s record for left tackles (3.81% in 2008).
Following Fant’s breakout 2021 season, he battled through an injury-riddled 2022 season where he only played eight games and was clearly not healthy even when he was on the field. Fant’s production declined immensely, as he allowed a 7.26% pressure rate (61st of 71 qualified tackles). Still, it was clear that injuries were the root of Fant’s poor performance.
Despite the tantalizing ceiling he displayed in 2021, the Jets and the rest of the NFL seemed to write off Fant after his injury-riddled 2022 season. In free agency, he could only fetch a one-year contract worth up to $4 million from the Texans.
Out in Houston, Fant is in the midst of a strong bounce-back season, making the Jets regret writing him off. While he has not quite returned to his 2021 form, Fant has started all 11 games at right tackle for the up-and-coming Texans and produced at a solid level overall. He has allowed pressure on 5.13% of his pass-blocking snaps, ranking 28th-best out of 71 qualified tackles. On top of that, he has only allowed one sack and committed just three penalties.
Hindsight is 20-20, but it looks like the Jets could have had a durable, above-average starting tackle for a cheap one-year contract (again, barring Fant simply not being interested in returning to New York). Why the Jets thought they were better off without Fant is anyone’s guess, especially when their alternative choice was the woeful Billy Turner on a one-year contract worth up to $3.1 million.
Furthermore, Fant did not sign with Houston until July 28. He lingered out there all offseason while the Jets sat around with an uninspiring tackle depth chart, yet the Jets just stood pat with the group that had Robert Saleh cursing up a storm on Hard Knocks a few weeks later. The Jets should have been especially interested after they were unable to land a tackle on either of the first two days of the draft. But they did nothing, and here we are.
This feels like another instance where the Jets pandered to Aaron Rodgers far too heavily. Billy Turner has long been known as a subpar starter in the NFL. George Fant was two seasons removed from an elite pass-blocking season with the Jets and only fell off from that status because of injuries. Yet, the Jets were content with signing Turner instead of Fant for almost the same cost, probably just because Rodgers thinks highly of him.
We don’t know exactly why the Jets did not re-sign Fant. Maybe the stats overrated him in 2021 and the league does not view him as highly as we think. Maybe the questions about his health were more serious than we realize. Maybe he had no interest in returning.
Regardless of what went down, as we sit here in November and the Jets boast one of the worst offensive lines in football while Fant is healthy and effective for a good offensive team, it’s difficult not to look back and think the Jets messed up by kicking Fant to the curb.
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Originally posted on Jets XFactor
