12:20pm: Vera-Tucker’s injury is believed to be a torn triceps that could end his 2025 season before it even starts, according to Schefter. It is unknown if he tore the same triceps as he did in 2022.
10:52am: Jets right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker “could miss significant time” after suffering a “potentially serious” arm injury, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic. His season may even be in jeopardy.
Vera-Tucker is seeking a second opinion on his arm with surgery under consideration, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The injury occurred during positional drills as the Jets prepared for their Week 1 matchup with the Steelers, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes.
This is Vera-Tucker’s third major injury in four years. He missed most of 2022 (torn triceps) and 2023 (ruptured Achilles), but managed to put together a mostly-healthy season in 2024 with only two games missed due to a minor injury. Staying healthy was therefore paramount to his financial future heading into a contract year, but this latest development could significantly impact his next payday.
When healthy, however, Vera-Tucker has been a steady starter along the Jets’ offensive line, including a career-best 77.7 grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) in 2024. The 2021 first-rounder was just named a team captain for the first time in his career and is considered the leader of New York’s offensive line. The coaching staff also appreciated his stability next to rookie right tackle Armand Membou, per Hughes.
The Jets will likely slide third-year center Joe Tippmann to guard and insert Josh Myers at center, which was their solution whenever left guard John Simpson stepped off the field last season.
Brutal. He’s a very good player, but he’s already missed 24 games in his four year career before this. There are worse fallback plans than playing Myers at center and sliding Tippmann to guard, but this is a tough loss.
Also always tough remembering that the Jets traded up for AVT and the Vikings got Darrisaw with the Jets’ original pick,
SMH… As a Jets’ fan since the New York Sack Exchange, this brings up the question: “Why can’t we have nice things?”