Tarrant, who will turn 30 on Saturday, is understood to have told Fremantle last week of his plans to return to Victoria for family and business reasons.
Tarrant had kicked 299 goals from 161 games with the Magpies when he was traded to Fremantle at the end of 2006, but made a successful transition to the backline in his last two seasons in the west.
Confident he had as many as three years to offer at AFL level, he said he would be best suited to a club that needed a key defender but was also poised to challenge for a premiership.
Hawthorn has already expressed its interest in him.
"I've been chasing the premiership dream now for 13 years. It's been a long time. I'm still really keen to get a flag. You basically almost go to a club that's really in that premiership window," he told The Footy Show on Thursday night.
Tarrant said he was yet to formally speak with Collingwood, but warmed to the prospect of playing in black and white again.
"Obviously Collingwood have got bigger and better things to think about than me right now but I did spend nine years there and was there as a 17-year-old," he said.
"I still have some really good friends there. Collingwood Football Club will always be part of me.
"You see a lot of players going back to clubs that they've been at before, but at the moment I'm not sure where they would sit with me."
A return to Collingwood would see Tarrant qualify for veteran status from 2012.
Follow our complete coverage of the 2010 AFL exchange period from October 4-11. No trades are official until paperwork has been accepted by the AFL and formally recognised after 2pm on Monday, October 11.
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