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Seahawks Activate George Fant From IR

November 2nd, 2024 at 5:45pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Seahawks have activated George Fant from injured reserve, making the veteran offensive tackle eligible to play on Sunday for the first time since injuring his knee in Week 1.

Fant signed a two-year, $9.1MM deal with the Seahawks this offseason to start at right tackle with Abraham Lucas beginning the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list after offseason knee surgery. Fant started in Week 1, but played just 13 snaps before exiting the game with a knee injury. Seattle held him out for Week 2 before ultimately deciding that an IR stint was necessary.

Stone Forsythe finished Week 1 at right tackle and took over the starting job through Week 6, when a hand injury forced him onto injured reserve as well. Rookie Michael Jerrell struggled in two subsequent starts at right tackle, allowing four pressures in both games, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Fant will likely retake his starting role after his activation, but another week or two of practice could yield a return for Lucas, as well. Fant’s performance this week could be crucial for his chances to retain his spot at right tackle for the rest of the season.

To make room for Fant on the roster, the Seahawks placed nose tackle Cameron Young on injured reserve with a knee injury. Young appeared in just one game for Seattle this season with just three total snaps. He appeared in 16 of the Seahawks’ games last year and will now be sidelined until at least Week 13.

The Seahawks also used standard practice squad elevations on cornerback Josh Jobe and wide receiver Cody White. Seattle elevated Jobe from the practice squad for their last two game, playing him for 116 snaps on defense. With his third elevation this week, Jobe will have to be added to the 53-man roster to play again in Seattle this year. White, meanwhile, is set to see his first NFL action since 2022 when he was with the Steelers.

Seahawks Designate Abraham Lucas For Return From PUP List; George Fant In IR-Return Window

October 23rd, 2024 at 12:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Abraham Lucas‘ health issues have forced the Seahawks to make a few adjustments over the past two seasons. One of them involved a reunion with George Fant. Both tackles have been largely out of the mix for Seattle this season.

The Seahawks are slowly seeing some returns, however; both Fant and Lucas are back at practice. For Lucas, this is a designation from the reserve/PUP list. Fant is being designated for return off IR. Both players have 21 days to be activated.

This is a long time coming for Lucas, who has spent most of the year recovering from surgery. Lucas, who missed 11 games last season due to a knee injury, has been Seattle’s first-string right tackle since he was drafted in the 2022 third round. He and 2022 first-round LT Charles Cross played key roles in Geno Smith‘s surprising resurgence, but while Cross has been generally available, his counterpart has not. Pete Carroll went so far as to call Lucas’ knee injury chronic, and his rehab arc has supported the dismissed HC’s assertion.

Although the Seahawks’ new coaching staff has pushed back on the “chronic” label, this group has also seen the Washington State alum take longer than expected to come back. Lucas suffered the knee injury in Week 1 of the 2023 season and was not activated until Nov. 30 of last year. He returned to finish the season but needed a procedure done soon after. The recovery from said procedure had defined Lucas’ year to this point.

It should be expected the Seahawks will give Lucas multiple weeks to practice before activating him. Lucas will need to show good form upon return, and it will be interesting to see if he reacquires his job under a new coaching staff. Fant, 32, has considerable experience at both tackle spots, beginning with a run in Seattle after a college hoops career. The veteran has started 74 career games, including Week 1. Fant went down 13 plays into the season, though, suffering a knee injury against the Broncos.

Signed to a two-year, $9.1MM deal, Fant came back to Seattle as a swingman but presumably viewed Lucas’ situation as a selling point. Fant also worked as a three-year Jets starter and filled in for a depleted Texans O-line last season. Tytus Howard‘s return from injury resulted in a shift to guard, with the Texans keeping Fant at RT. It will be interesting to see if the Seahawks follow suit.

With Fant likely closer to a return than Lucas, he would have the first crack at the job. The 32-year-old blocker will be set to step back in for Stone Forsythe, whom Pro Football Focus has graded as the NFL’s third-worst tackle regular this season. Forsythe has started the past five games at right tackle for the 4-3 Seahawks.

Seahawks Sign T McClendon Curtis To Active Roster, Place T George Fant On IR

September 21st, 2024 at 8:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

George Fant suffered a knee injury in Seattle’s season opener, and it kept him sidelined for Week 2. The ailment will now lead to an extended absence.

Fant was placed on injured reserve Saturday, per a team announcement. The 32-year-old represented a veteran swing tackle option to fill in for Abraham Lucas as right tackle while also being capable of handling time on the blindside if Charles Cross were to miss time. Lucas remains on the PUP list, so he will be out until Week 5 at the earliest. Fant will be unavailable for at least the next four games.

To fill his roster spot, the Seahawks promoted McClendon Curtis from the practice squad. Curtis spent the offseason competing for a role of some kind along the O-line, and he found himself in the mix for the right guard spot at one point. The former UDFA was next on the depth chart behind Fant at right tackle, though, and he was quickly re-signed by Seattle not long after a brief tenure with the Raiders following Seattle’s decision to cut him at the end of the summer. Curtis, 25, has just two regular season appearances to his name.

Seattle also made a pair of gameday callups from the practice squad ahead of tomorrow’s contest. Linebacker Patrick O’Connell was elevated, opening the door for him to make his first appearance of the season and second of his career. The team’s other callup is edge rusher Tyus Bowser. The former Ravens second-rounder joined the Seahawks on a practice squad deal after roster cutdowns, reuniting him with head coach Mike Macdonald, and Week 3 could mark his Seattle debut.

Bowser suffered an Achilles tear in 2021, and his recovery from the injury limited him to nine games the following campaign. The 29-year-old then missed all of last season due to a knee injury, making it no surprise he was released by Baltimore. Bowser – who took workouts with the Titans and Cowboys by signing in Seattle – could offer healthy depth along the edge with Uchenna Nwosu on the mend and both Boye Mafe and Derick Hall listed as questionable for tomorrow.

The Seahawks have all eight of their IR activations as things stand after they did not designate anyone for return at the roster cutdown deadline. Bringing Fant back into the fold will use up one activation, and for the time being Seattle’s tackle play with limited depth will be worth watching.

NFL Injury Updates: Higgins, Herbert, Seahawks

September 20th, 2024 at 9:05pm CST by Ely Allen

The Bengals have operated through the first two weeks of the season without two of their top targets from the 2023 NFL season. Tyler Boyd found his way to Tennessee in free agency, and Tee Higgins has missed the first two games of the year with a hamstring injury. Quarterback Joe Burrow will be happy to see one of the two return in Week 3 against the Commanders, according to Ben Baby of ESPN.

Higgins has been limited at practice throughout this past week, but the fifth-year wideout claimed that “he feels 100% healthy and…should be able to play at full strength” this Monday night. Higgins broke 1,000 yards receiving in his second NFL season despite missing three games, and he’ll be challenged to do so in 2024 after missing two already.

Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase may be just as happy to see Higgins as Burrow is. The only major receiving threat in the team’s first two games, Chase has been limited to 10 catches for 97 yards so far this season. Andrei Iosivas and Trenton Irwin have been the beneficiaries of Higgins’ missed time, and they’ll hope that their early efforts have earned them some targets as WR3 and WR4 moving forward.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the NFL:

  • Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has been seen very little at practice this week after getting rolled up on in last week’s game. Per James Palmer of Bleacher Report, Herbert told reporters he had been dealing with a high ankle sprain. Herbert also mentioned that a decision hasn’t been made yet on whether or not he’ll play this Sunday.
  • The Seahawks will likely be without four starters in Week 3. Running back Kenneth Walker and linebacker Jerome Baker are both doubtful, while outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu and right tackle George Fant have already been ruled out. Per Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, Walker could return in Week 4 after missing two contests. ESPN’s Brady Henderson adds that the team is hopeful Nwosu will be back by then, too. He’s reportedly “progressing really quickly,” according to head coach Mike Macdonald.

Latest On Seahawks’ Offensive Line

May 19th, 2024 at 8:12pm CST by Ely Allen

Though the Seahawks’ path forward at offensive tackle seems secure, the team has lots of questions to face concerning the interior line. The situation should lead to a few position battles worth watching this summer.

At offensive tackle, the situation is simple: 2022 first- and third-round picks Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas are set to continue manning the starting spots they’ve held since their rookie season. The only questions mark here comes with Lucas’ health, after the 25-year-old missed all but six games last year as he struggled to come back from offseason surgery on his shoulder. Even if either player misses some time, Seattle brought back a former tackle of theirs in George Fant after four years away from the team. Most recently, Fant started 13 games for the Texans last year and should provide an improvement to the backup options utilized last season in Seattle.

At guard, the team inked veteran free agent Laken Tomlinson, who should slide into the starting job at left guard. At right guard, the Seahawks return Anthony Bradford, who started 10 games as a fourth-round rookie last year. The team also utilized a third-round selection this year to draft UConn’s Christian Haynes, who played exclusively at right guard throughout college. Bradford wasn’t a world-beater last year, with Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranking him as the league’s 62nd-best guard out of 79 graded players, so Haynes will likely be given every opportunity to compete for the starting job opposite Tomlinson. Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times points out depth guard McClendon Curtis as another under the radar option. Though listed on the roster last year as a tackle, he’s now listed at guard, where he started 30 games in college.

The real questions come at center, where the Seahawks have stacked up a number of inexperienced options. Currently, the depth chart holds Nick Harris, Olusegun Oluwatimi, and Mike Novitsky. Harris, a 2020 fifth-round pick for the Browns, only started four games over the course of his rookie deal, though he earned plenty of snaps on special teams or on overloaded lines in Cleveland. Oluwatimi started one game as a rookie fifth-round pick for Seattle last year, though he also got plenty of special teams experience. He also played over half the team’s offensive snaps in two other games last season. Novitsky is a long shot to make an impact in this conversation. An undrafted rookie out of Kansas, Novitsky doesn’t trail the others much in experience but lacks the drafted pedigree.

Three spots are generally set: Cross at left tackle, Tomlinson beside him as left guard, and Lucas opposite the two at right tackle. You could even say four spots are set, if you decide to count Fant’s job as a swing tackle. At right guard, Seattle knows Bradford can handle the job, if necessary, but they will hope that competition with Haynes will either push Bradford to improve or reveal a better option in Haynes or even, possibly, Curtis. Center is where things remain dire. The team may strike gold in the three unlikely options they hold, but external additions may be on the horizon if no one takes hold of the starting job convincingly.

OL Notes: Jets, Alt, Titans, Jones, Steelers, Shelton, Rams, Jones, Ravens, Giants, Hawks

April 4th, 2024 at 9:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Once the draft moves past its quarterback stage, wide receivers are expected to be the focus. This draft also features a few high-level tackle prospects that should go off the board soon after, potentially breaking up the QB-WR string that could lead off this year’s event. Arguably the top tackle available, Joe Alt, has begun his run of pre-draft visits. The Jets and Titans used “30” visits on the Notre Dame tackle this week, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. A first-team All-American in back-to-back years and the top tackle on Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board (No. 8 overall), Alt should not need to wait long before his name comes off the board.

The Titans (No. 7) and Jets (No. 10) figure to be two prime suitors. The Jets are not as needy here compared to the start of free agency, having reacquired Morgan Moses via trade and signed Tyron Smith. The All-Decade blocker is among the NFL’s most injury-prone players, and with both Smith and Moses going into age-33 seasons, a tackle-in-waiting would benefit a Jets team that has encountered regular issues up front over the past several years. The Titans cut Andre Dillard and have not added a tackle, potentially making them the Alt floor. Though, the Chargers should not be entirely ruled out — now that Jim Harbaugh is running the show — of a first-round tackle investment to pair with Rashawn Slater.

Here is the latest from the O-line ranks around the league:

Seahawks To Sign S Rayshawn Jenkins, T George Fant

March 15th, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

MARCH 15: The Seahawks are giving Jenkins a two-year, $12MM deal, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets, noting $6.6MM will come the safety’s way in Year 1. Fant will collect up to $14MM on his deal, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who adds the veteran tackle will receive a $3.7MM signing bonus.

Multiple teams pursued Fant, according to Wilson, but John Schneider confirmed (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta) the Seahawks are not planning a two-Fant starting lineup. While Noah Fant is back at tight end, George Fant will work as a swingman behind starters Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas. Considering the investments the Seahawks made in their young tackles, this is not surprising.

MARCH 13: After moving on from both Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, the Seahawks had a need on the backend. Those veteran safeties will not be in place for 2024, but Rayshawn Jenkins will. The latter has agreed to a deal with Seattle, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

In another free agent deal, the Seahawks will bring back George Fant. The veteran tackle is set to return to where his career began, Pelissero notes in a follow-up. Fant will provide depth at the tackle spot on a team featuring two young starters.

Jenkins was part of Jacksonville’s cost-cutting measures in the lead-in to free agency. He had a three-year run in Duval County, remaining a full-time starter over that span. The 30-year-old racked up five interceptions during the past two seasons, adding 21 pass deflections in that time. To little surprise, Jenkins was quickly on the radar of interested teams after his Jags release went through.

The Seahawks and 49ers had Jenkins visits lined up, and he has elected to head to Seattle. A first-team role should await the Miami alum given the decision to cut Adams and Diggs in cost-shedding moves. Seattle invested in Julian Love last offseason, but he is only under contract through 2024. The ex-Giant could play his way into a new Seattle pact with his play this season, and doing so will come about with a veteran of 109 games alongside him in the form of Jenkins.

Fant spent the first three years of his career in the Emerald City, logging 24 starts across 46 games with the Seahawks. He worked as a full-time starter with the Jets from 2020-22, seeing time at both left and right tackle. He took a one-year Texans deal last offseason, starting 13 contests and playing almost exclusively at the RT spot. That could come in handy with Seattle.

2022 third-rounder Abraham Lucas was limited to six games last season due to injury, and Fant will provide a veteran starting option if necessary. Lucas struggled when on the field in 2023, drawing a PFF grade of 53.1 (a steep decline from that of his rookie season). Fant, 31, earned a much better evaluation last year in a bounce-back from his final Jets season. He could see playing time with Seattle for the second time in his career if needed at either tackle spot.

Texans Designate Tytus Howard For Return, Place Kendrick Green On IR; Howard To Play Left Guard

October 8th, 2023 at 7:41am CST by Sam Robinson

OCTOBER 8: The Texans will indeed have Howard and Tunsil back in the lineup for today’s game against the Falcons, per Rapoport. However, as Wilson reports, Howard will be returning to the interior of the line and will slot in at left guard. Earlier in the week, Wilson published a full-length article discussing the possbility of that alignment and noted that the presence of George Fant, who has played well at right tackle in Howard’s absence, could allow Fant to stay right where he is.

It is unclear if Howard at LG and Fant at RT will be a permanent arrangement, but if they perform at a high level today, it will be difficult for head coach DeMeco Ryans to make a change in that regard.

OCTOBER 5: Kendrick Green will not join Howard and Scruggs in the IR-return picture. The recent trade acquisition underwent meniscus surgery that is expected to sideline him for the rest of the season, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes. While Green did not suffer any ligament tears and is in line to be ready for Houston’s offseason program, he will head into a contract year coming having played in just four games over the past two seasons.

OCTOBER 4: The Texans have seen C.J. Stroud show considerable promise early in his rookie season, and the No. 2 overall pick has done so behind a backup-laden offensive line. That group is beginning to move toward full strength.

As expected, the Texans designated Tytus Howard to return from IR on Wednesday. Today marks the start of most teams’ pre-Week 5 practices. With this week doubling as the first for players on IR, NFI and PUP lists to be designated for return, Howard is one of several recovering performers to see his 21-day activation clock started.

Howard broke his hand in two places early in training camp and underwent surgery. He joined center Juice Scruggs and guard Kenyon Green in being placed on IR. Scruggs remains on Houston’s injured list, but a potential Week 6 return is in play for the second-round rookie. Green is out for the season, being placed on IR before teams finalized their initial 53-man rosters. While the 2022 first-round pick was part of the Texans’ O-line plans, he will need months to recover. Howard and Scruggs, however, are on the road back to action.

Houston gave Howard a three-year, $56MM extension this offseason. That deal followed pacts for Laremy Tunsil and trade acquisition Shaq Mason. The latter has been the only healthy Houston first-stringer up front. Howard, a five-year starter who has settled in at right tackle after being tried at guard and on the blind side, may well be back in uniform by Week 5. Tunsil has a decent chance of coming back as well. The eighth-year left tackle has missed the past three games, but Tunsil returned to practice Wednesday. Optimism exists the high-priced edge protector will be back in place Sunday, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes.

While starters are preparing to return, the Texans did sustain another blow up front. Kendrick Green is now on IR, the team announced. The late-summer trade acquisition suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee in Week 4, per Wilson, who adds surgery is likely. Green avoided ligament tears, but he must now miss at least four games.

The former Steelers third-round pick had been pressed into duty, starting the past three games. Those not only marked Green’s first starts since his rookie year but also his first appearances since that 2021 season. Adding multiple new interior O-line starters in 2022, Pittsburgh benched the interior O-lineman and unloaded him a year later. Pro Football Focus ranks Green 38th at guard thus far, showing a glimpse at improvement after a rough rookie year.

Teams are allotted eight IR activations per season. Howard will join punter Cameron Johnston, whom the team also designated for return, as two activations. Scruggs is set to take up a third slot for the Texans, who have started 2-2 behind strong early-season play from Stroud.

OL Notes: Smith, Texans, Rams, Bears

September 6th, 2023 at 11:17am CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys are going with a “best five” configuration up front, shifting course months after Jerry Jones discussed a plan of keeping Tyler Smith at tackle. Smith is back at guard, but he may not be a lock to start the season on time. The second-year blocker suffered a hamstring strain, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Jones expects Smith to play in Week 1; the 2022 first-round pick did not miss a game last season. Dallas has lost its starting left guard in free agency in each of the past two offseasons, seeing Connor Williams and Connor McGovern defect to the AFC East.

One of the backup options, Josh Ball, is on IR. Ball is battling hip and groin pain, and the Morning News’ Michael Gehlken notes he is expected to miss around two months. A 2021 fourth-rounder, Ball is not expected to need surgery. The Cowboys kept eight O-linemen, with rookies Asim Richards and T.J. Bass joining Chuma Edoga as backups.

Here is the latest from NFL O-lines:

  • Texans right tackle Tytus Howard returned to practice earlier this week, working out with a cast on his injured left hand. While the fifth-year lineman is on the verge of returning, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes George Fant is expected to play in place of Howard in Week 1. Howard, who signed a Texans extension in July, underwent surgery to repair a broken hand in early August. Fant worked as a regular Jets starter — at left and right tackle — throughout the 2020 and ’21 seasons; injuries limited him to seven games last year.
  • Josh Jones filled in for D.J. Humphries as the Cardinals’ left tackle last season, but the recently traded blocker is back at guard. The Texans have Jones in place as their starting left guard going into the season, Wilson tweets. Jones is replacing 2022 first-rounder Kenyon Green, who is on season-ending IR. Jones spent the 2021 season as a primary Cardinals starting guard. The Texans will also be without center Juice Scruggs to start the season; the second-rounder is on short-term IR with a hamstring injury.
  • The Rams gave Joseph Noteboom a three-year, $40MM deal to replace Andrew Whitworth in 2022, but after another season-ending injury, Whitworth’s would-be heir apparent lost his job. The Rams are going with Alaric Jackson at left tackle, per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, who adds Noteboom is back at guard (subscription required). Noteboom worked at guard early in his career and was mentioned as a guard option this offseason, but he had played on the outside since becoming Los Angeles’ swing tackle in 2020. The Rams also added Kevin Dotson from the Steelers, and while Dotson has started 30 career games (including 17 last year), Rodrigue adds the team views him as a depth piece. A former UDFA, Jackson started six games last season before becoming one of the many Ram blockers forced off the field due to health issues. Blood clots ended Jackson’s 2022 slate.
  • Previously set to shift back to center, Cody Whitehair is at guard to start his eighth Bears season. Teven Jenkins‘ injury will shift Whitehair to left guard and Lucas Patrick to center, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune notes. Recent trade acquisition Dan Feeney is in place as Chicago’s backup center. Jenkins is on IR to start the season. Whitehair spent the past four seasons at guard but began his career with three slates at center. Patrick has played both guard and center. The 2022 free agency addition was ticketed to start at center last season, but injuries limited the ex-Packer to seven games.

Texans, T George Fant Agree To Deal

July 28th, 2023 at 8:55am CST by Adam La Rose

Not long after a workout in Houston, George Fant has landed a deal. The veteran offensive tackle is joining the Texans on a one-year contract worth up to $4MM, reports Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 (Twitter link).

Wilson adds that Fant had offers in place from other teams, but elected to join Houston. A starting role is out of the question unless either member of the Texans’ first-team tandem (Laremy Tunsil and the recently-extended Tytus Howard) were to suffer an injury. Fant, 31, will provide a veteran presence and considerable experience off the bench if called into action, though.

The Titans were one of the teams to show interest in Fant, hosting him for a free agent visit last weekend. They did the same with Chris Hubbard, however, and elected to sign the latter yesterday. It comes as little surprise that Fant has reacted to that development by taking a different deal inside the AFC South. He will join a Texans team which was in need of an addition for the swing tackle role.

2020 fourth-rounder Charlie Heck (who has started 17 games during his three-year Texans tenure) is currently on the PUP list. Fant will thus have plenty of reps available during training camp, as he looks to settle into his third career team. The Western Kentucky alum spent three years each with the Seahawks and Jets prior to his 2023 free agent period.

Fant started all but one of his appearances in New York, and he was one of many O-linemen to suffer injury troubles for the Jets last season. A knee issue limited him to eight games, and after discussing an extension the offseason prior, team and club parted ways at the start of the new league year. The Jets have several options to sort through at both the left and right tackle spots, positions at which Fant has experience. While his former team works through their various combinations, Fant will provide the Texans with a capable backup swing tackle.

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