Jets' George Fant frustrated by O-line position change with Duane Brown out
New York Jets offensive lineman George Fant at training camp on July 29, 2022. Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The Jets have not played a regular-season game yet, but their offensive line already is in flux — and one of its pillars is frustrated.
Robert Saleh said Friday that left tackle Duane Brown will not play against the Ravens on Sunday and might not play for a long time because of a shoulder injury.
Brown, 37, signed in mid-August after Mekhi Becton suffered a season-ending knee injury in training camp, and the Jets moved a reluctant George Fant from left to right tackle to replace him. With Brown out, the Week 1 starter at left tackle will be Fant, who spent most of last year at the position after Becton was injured in the first game.
“Obviously frustrated still,” Fant said after practice when asked about his latest move. “Can’t control it, but it’s obviously a frustrating situation. I just want to get comfortable and play a position, and I haven’t been afforded that since I’ve been here.”
Fant prefers left tackle but prefers continuity even more. “It’s almost impossible,” he said. “It’s a situation where, yeah, I’ve played both positions, but it’s still a situation of preparing and understanding how you need to play against certain players on certain sides.”
“I’m sure it’s frustrating for George because everybody just wants to settle on their job,” Saleh said. “But credit to George. He is an uber-athlete. He’s got great versatility his whole career. He has always been a team guy first.
“He’s a phenomenal teammate. And for him to sacrifice to jump left, right, left, right, it’s not easy for him, but at the same time, he’s so gifted and so athletic and smart enough to be able to do it.”
Saleh said the team is “gathering information” before deciding Brown’s status beyond Week 1, but he said injured reserve is a possibility.
The Jets believe Brown was injured in practice Monday. The five-time Pro Bowler had played every game for the Seahawks in three of the past four seasons.
So who will play right tackle in place of Fant? Rookie Max Mitchell, a 6-6, 307-pound fourth-round draft pick out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
“It’s going to be awesome,” he said. “I’m excited. Nothing I’m not prepared for. Ready to go.”
He said he had received “about a billion texts” reacting to the news he would start.
“Max is much further along than we thought he’d be at this point,” Saleh said. “So we’re very confident that he’ll be able to step in and do his job . . . We have a lot of faith in him. He’s a fantastic athlete. He’s very smart. He’s just got to learn the nuances of the NFL game and the game within the game.”
One of Mitchell’s first tests will be Ravens lineman Calais Campbell, a six-time Pro Bowler.
“He’s a freak athlete, but nothing we can’t handle, nothing that we haven’t seen on the field before,” Mitchell said. “Obviously, he’s a renowned guy, but he’s just another dude.”
Mitchell said Fant has been a good sounding board. Now he will get to mentor the rookie on the field and under fire.
Notes & quotes: CB D.J. Reed, who suffered a knee injury in a practice with the Giants, said he is “feeling good, ready to go . . . It really could have been bad.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
