Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Call George Fant for Visit, Fant's Impact on Starting OL & Flowers for Ran Carthon

Episode Date: July 19, 2023

The Tennessee Titans continue shaping their training camp roster and will now bring in free agent offensive tackle George Fant for a visit. Fant is a perfect answer to the Titans seeing their starting right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere getting suspended for six games. Also, Fant could have a major impact on the Titans offensive line group as he now lets everyone stay in their proper role. Finally, after the dust has settled on the offseason, Titans new GM Ran Carthon deserves his credit.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Tennessee Titans continue making great moves, and according to new reports, they're going to bring in free agent offensive tackle George Fant over the weekend. I'm going to break down the big news and what it means for the Titans on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast.

I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. The good news keeps on rolling in for the Tennessee Titans. We got the DeAndre Hopkins news earlier in the week, and now after talking about it on Twitter, George Fant is going to be coming in for a visit with the Tennessee Titans over the weekend. And the intention is to sign him. I'm diving into the big news here, what it means for the Titans offensive line going forward. And we're also going to give Rankarth on the flowers that he rightly deserves for this

first offseason with the team. Before we get into all of that, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps and always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, where it's your team every day.

And my everydayers, my everydayers out there, let me know in the comments who you are, but my everydayers know that I have been talking about George Fant for a long, long time now. I mean, all the way back to February for alltitans.com. I cover the team as a writer for Sports Illustrated. I've been talking about George Fant as an option for the Titans since February. And now after the suspension of Nicholas

Petit Ferrer, they're actually going to make the move. I mean, they're just bringing in Fant for a visit, but at the end of the day, this is a move that makes a ton of sense. And unless he has some injury issue that they aren't aware of, it looks like this should be a done deal

and the Titans will bring in George Fant. We got the news from Jordan Schultz. Sources. The Titans are bringing in former Jets offensive tackle George Fant for a workout on Saturday. There's a good chance he signs, assuming all goes well. Starting right tackle Nicholas Petit-Ferrer is suspended for the first six games of the season. And yes, obviously,

this decision was spurred by the fact that Nicholas Petit-Ferrer got suspended for six games. That's probably why the Titans were doing this. But either way, I've been saying that the Titans have needed to do this even before the news of Nicholas Petit Ferrer because the Titans simply did not have the offensive tackle depth to withstand an injury, an issue, and exactly what popped up, an issue for NPF. So I think this has been a smart move for the Titans all along. It's even better of a move now with the Nicholas Petit Ferrer suspension. And let's just dive into George Fant. And like I teased earlier,

it's kind of funny that George Fant was asked on Twitter on Sunday night, you know, when are you coming to the Titans? He said, all they got to do is call. Well, guess what? The Titans called and George Fant answered, baby. But let's talk about George Fant as a player here. So the last three seasons, he's played with the New York Jets, and it's been a bit up and down.

I'll be honest. Last season, Fant played eight games. He went back and forth between left tackle and right tackle. He dealt with a knee injury throughout the year. He did not play well. No mistake about it. He did not play well last year. 48.4 overall grade, 56.3 run blocking grade,

46.7 pass blocking grade. He gave up five sacks, 27 pressures, seven penalties, and 372 pass blocking snaps. Again, 207 snaps at left tackle, 309 at right tackle, back and forth all year long, dealing with injuries, didn't play in a half the games. It was not Fant's best season. So that's why he's available on the market right now. And naysayers who are going to talk down on the move and compare him to Dennis Daly and stuff like that, that's what they're going to point out.

But I would like to point out from last year, the best performances that Fant had all year, 66.1 grade during a game and run blocking, 58.8 grade and pass blocking one grade, both of those grades came at right tackle. And then if you go to a year before that, the two years before that where Fant was healthy, where he was on two healthy knees,

George Fant was a really good starting tackle. Look at 2021 where he played 15 games at left tackle. He had a 71.1 overall grade, a 59.9 run blocking grade, and a 75.1 pass blocking grade. Remember that the Titans are looking to be a better pass blocking team this year. He gave up one sack in 15 games. Only 18 pressures in 15 games at left tackle for the Jets. That was just 2021.

Just in 2021. So, Fayette has played really excellent football within the last two years. You go to 2020 where he played the majority of the year at right tackle, and it was still a very good performance. 14 games, 61.6 overall, 56.9 in run blocking, 61.8 in pass blocking. Only gave up three sacks and 33 pressures all year long. Okay? So, we're talking about a guy who has played better offensive tackle

than anybody who was playing for the Titans last year, and now with NPF out, and you look at the options tackle than anybody who was playing for the Titans last year. And now with NPF out, and you look at the options the Titans had behind him, George Fant is most certainly a better option than those people, than those guys on the roster, which we're going to talk about in just a moment. The domino effect here for the starting offensive line and what it means for the people behind him. But look, let's cut to the chase here. George Fant is not an all-pro.

George Fant is not going to all of a sudden be some diamond in the rough that the Titans find. He may only start for the six games, and then Nicholas Petit Ferrer may go right back to starting. But George Fant is a better answer for the right tackle problem the Titans have right now than any other realistic option that they could find. Whether it be on the roster or off the roster. You just don't find starting tackles

at this point during the offseason. Fant was the only one available that had that capability and the Titans are calling him and likely going to bring him in. It's just a great move. It's just an incredibly smart move by the Titans to do this. If they are going, I really do think that without the DeAndre Hopkins signing, this probably doesn't happen. But with getting Hopkins in and saying, hey, we are going for it this year,

they cannot afford to start a right tackle that's on their roster right now without totally jeopardizing the rest of the offensive line as well. So, great move by the Titans. Fant is an older player. He's had injuries. He's had up and down play. We're not talking about an all-star here,

but a very solid option for the Titans that, in my opinion, is basically at the same level as Nicholas Petit Ferrer. And remember this, George Fant is an athletic player who is more of a pass blocker throughout his career than he is a run blocker. The guy is a former tight end who put on weight and became an offensive tackle. So he matches what the Titans are looking for this year

with their offensive linemen based on what we've seen them do so far. And that's gearing themselves more towards athletic guys who can pass protect because the Titans realize they have to throw the ball more next year. So, with all that being said, excellent signing by Rand Carthon for this time period where we're at in the offseason. Just love the moves that the Titans are making. These are the moves that I asked the Titans to make all year long.

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Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Very exciting episode of the Locked on Titans podcast. The Tennessee Titans continue to address their needs in the best possible way as we lead up to training camp next week. I mean, I have been asking for the Hopkins signing and for the fans signing for the Titans to take this last dance with Tannehill and Henry serious. And it took some time. I wasn't patient enough.

But at the end of the day, Rand Carthon is making the right moves. We're going to give Carthon his flowers for this all season at the end of the show. But now I want to talk about what the George Fant potential signing, of course, it hasn't happened yet, but I think it will, what the potential signing of George Fant could mean for the rest of the offensive line and why it was the best option available. So, number one, people are talking about

what level are you going to get from George Fant. As I just said, he's not an all-star. He's not an all-pro. Don't expect that. But what I will say is, you look at his play in recent years, and you compare it to what the Titans got from their offensive tackles last year, I mean, Nicholas Petit-Ferrer had a 52.3 overall grade,

a 57 grade in run blocking, a 50 grade in pass blocking, gave up five sacks, 35 pressures, and eight penalties. I mean, that is basically a little worse than what George Fant did as a right tackle all year in 2020, a lot worse than what George Fant did as a left tackle in 2021. And it's just a little bit better than what George Fant did last year during his banged-up against for the Jets in eight games. So you look at Daly, 46.1 overall grade, 46.5 in run blocking, 45.5 in pass blocking, gave up 12 sacks, 52 pressures, seven penalties. I mean, George Fant, at minimum, at minimum,

is much better than Dennis Daly and a much better option. So, I hear people saying, oh, it's just Dennis Daly. No way, man. Come on. Come on now, everybody. Gotta have a little more optimism in you than that.

If I'm telling you that, then you know. But looking at the Titans starting offensive line, now that you have Fant in the picture, I'm guessing they'll have Fant in the picture unless something really bad pops up that even Fant didn't know about. But you'll have Dillard at left tackle, you'll have Skowronski at left guard, you'll have Brewer at center, you'll have Brunskill at right guard, and then you'll have Fant at right tackle. And that makes so much sense for the Titans because now, the offensive line that they have been working with in OTAs with NPF at right tackle and then the rest of those guys in the spots

I just said, instead of having to jumble around those lineups, instead of having to move guys out of positions that they were comfortable in and that they've been working in, now, now, the Titans could just pop in Fant, leave everybody where they're at. They don't have to move Skowronski to a side. I mean, people were saying, and I talked about this possibility as well, but you could move Skowronski to right tackle.

You would think that that would be fine, but Skowronski never played on the right side in college. So you are taking a risk there, and you got a guy in Skowronski who could be a dominant left guard. Now you're kicking him out where he might just be an okay right tackle. He could be great at right tackle, but the odds are higher

that he's better at left guard. So you don't have to hurt your left guard position and hurt your right tackle position at the same time there as your right tackle position is hurt is what there, as your right tackle position is hurt, is what I mean. And then, you look at maybe moving Brunskill to right tackle. Some people talked about that.

Brunskill has played all over the offensive line, but he's had the least amount of career snaps at right tackle. So I don't think that makes a ton of sense either. That was not a good option. That was not high on my options. And then out of that, you look at what? Jalen Duncan? Maybe Jamarco Jones? You could try there? Something like that? I just, none of those options were realistic options for the Titans in, again, a last dance season with Tannehill and Henry and now Hopkins. The Titans are going for it. Whether we think

they can do it or not, whether, let me know down below if you think the Titans can win the Super Bowl, but whether we think it or not, the Titans are going for it, and they're giving themselves the proper answers for the issues that have popped up before the season even kicks off. You have a disastrous wide receiver group, you go out and get one of the best receivers in the league. Your starting right tackle gets suspended for gambling a couple of weeks before training camp, you go out and get one of the best receivers in the league. Your starting right tackle gets suspended for gambling a couple of weeks before training camp. You go out and get the best free agent possible to solve that issue.

It's a better option. FANT continues to be a better option for the Titans than any of the in-house options that they had or any of the other free agent options that they had. And again, you could go the risky route of hoping that a better veteran gets released by a

team. But now with cut down day, there's only one cut down day and it comes after the third preseason game. That gives you such little time to work a new person in. And if you're wanting someone who is a starting level offensive lineman, or you want somebody who can come in and you can expect to put in that starting role to get them only two weeks before kicking off the season, that is a risky, dangerous game to play. So this is the best possible outcome for the Titans considering the situations. Would it have been better if the Titans could have gotten

an all-pro right tackle? Sure. Sure. But at this point in the season, where they're at right now, getting ready to go into training camp, that's just not realistic. I think the Titans have done just about as well as they could to remake this offensive line and try to get better while

not committing long-term money into the future, which was clearly a directive and a priority for this front office. They wanted to make the team better and add in some pieces without committing any money, any significant money, into the future to leave their options open.

My God, it looks like they might have done it. It looks like they might have threaded that needle. So, with that being said, we're going to give Rancarthon his flowers for what he is doing here, the team he is putting together, the moves that he has made. I cannot believe it. I didn't think it would happen. The Titans needed these moves, but Rancar Thon has threaded that needle

between looking at the future and making the most competitive team he can for this season. Incredibly impressive stuff. We're going to talk about it in just a moment. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. George Fant coming to Nashville over the weekend with the intention to sign with the Tennessee Titans. I think it's a wonderful move. Up and down play recently,

but he's the best option that the Titans have right now. Makes the starting offensive line make a ton more sense. And honestly, I didn't even get a chance to mention it, but even when NPF comes back, maybe Fant is playing better. He stays starter. Maybe NPF slides in, and now you have a better swing tackle as a backup than you had before. No matter what happens when NPF comes back, this is a good move for the Titans.

No matter what. So love seeing that. And got to give Renkart the honest flowers. Quite honestly, that's really what it comes down to. He's just done such an impressive job this offseason. But before I dive into that, I want to thank you guys once again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round

on all apps, always for free. Get subscribed, stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. Shout out to my everydayers out there. Tomorrow, to cap off this week, I'm going to do my final positional preview. We're going to talk about the secondary, the cornerbacks, and the safeties. Dive into where we're at there on those two positions,

and then that'll wrap up our positional preview series. We've gone through the entire offense, gone through the entire defense. If you guys missed any of those episodes, go back and check those out. They're evergreen content other than wide receiver now. But those are still great episodes to go listen to if you haven't seen some of those in between.

Check those out. But capping it off tomorrow with the defensive backs. But with that being said, Rancar Thon cuts all the veteran players who are making too much money. Bud Dupree, Taylor LeJuan, Robert Woods, Zach Cunningham, Randy Bullock. I mean, he just did a fantastic job. Fantastic job there.

You go forth into free agency, the Titans add potential starters at edge, at offensive tackle, at guard. They add depth at linebacker, a potential number one corner. Really good job there. All on contracts that are low money,

low guarantees, not binding into the future more than a year or two at max with most of them. And with the Titans cap space situation over the next few years, they'll be able to deal with any of those contracts

if the player doesn't work out. Not only that, you get into the draft and you add a starting offensive lineman, you get a blue chip player with pick number 11, which I've been begging for since week 17 of last year. And they do it.

They, boom, check that box. They get the blue chip offensive lineman. You get a Ryan Tannehill replacement. You get a Dontrell Hilliard replacement that could be your primary back into the future. You add some extra weapons and Josh Wiley. Colton Dow. Okay, everybody's mad about the wide receiver stuff, but looking back

on it as a total picture now, add some young players at some important positions. Add Hopkins. You add Fant. I mean, they give Jeffrey Simmons the big time extension and get that done? I mean, Rancart on,

I still would have liked to see another wide receiver other than Nick Westbrook-Akene. I would like to have seen a McCall Hardman or Paris Campbell, you know, a speed wide receiver like that that they can use on gadget plays and stuff. I think that would have made more sense than bringing back NWI, but I mean, who am I to complain about that at this point? You know what I mean?

It's just, it's really impressive. Not only has Ray Carthon done all of those moves and kind of checked all the boxes this year, but he's also revamping the way that the Titans run a football organization, bringing in Chad Brinker, Sarah Bailey, bringing in analytics forward people, restructuring the front office. I mean, it's just been an incredibly impressive offseason. It really has.

You look back on the total body of work here, and again, just flowers to Rand Carthon, hats off to Rand Carthon. What an incredible start to his general manager career and tenure with the Titans. Just hit it out of the park. He's hit it out of the park and set the Titans

up for a season that they can be proud of, set the Titans up to have hope that they can accomplish great things this year. I honestly cannot believe it. I've been wrong at points in times throughout about what the Titans are doing, and I could not be happier

about what this offseason has looked like at this point, adding all these faces at the end. I mean, it's just it's awesome. People are asking about how to make the money work, the salary cap. It's all about contract structure.

You can add void years to the Hopkins deal. I think Fant is just going to get a veteran minimum anyway. But I will say, I do think that there will be, there will be one contract maneuver from a Titans player currently on the roster. I would be on the lookout for a Derrick Henry extension. I think that might be coming down the pipe.

Extend Henry to guarantee his money for next season in 2024. If the Titans are confident he'll be productive then. You give Derrick Henry one more season so he's not in a lame duck year. Give him another $8 to $10 million guaranteed. Allow that to open up even more salary cap space for you so you can fit in Hopkins, you can fit in Fant, and you have some money to play with going forward as you get into the season when you'll inevitably have to make some more moves.

So, great stuff for Rancarthon. Congratulations, Titans fans. We're here. We made it. The team looks ready. All the questions are answered, and training camp starts next week. So I'll be back with you guys again tomorrow. Going to be back.

Going to be breaking down the defensive backfield in our final positional preview, but that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titan.