Jets' Alijah Vera-Tucker Predicted To Leave New York

The New York Jets had a tough season overall, but one bright spot for the franchise was the offensive line.

First and foremost, the Jets hit with the No. 7 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 National Football League Draft with Membou. He finished the 2025 season as the second-highest overall graded rookie offensive lineman by Pro Football Focus.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

not bad for 21 years old pic.twitter.com/qyBv2zBOHr
— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 12, 2026

The Jets' offensive line was a bright spot

Jun 10, 2025; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets offensive tackle Armand Membou (70) looks on during minicamp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

Membou played all 17 games for the Jets and paired with Olu Fashanu, New York is set at offensive tackle for the foreseeable future. Josh Myers did a solid job at center and was rewarded with a contract extension already. Joe Tippmann moved to guard and looked comfortable right away. The veteran John Simpson was also dependable for a team that has struggled with the offensive line over the last few years. In fact, all five starting linemen played in all 17 games, the first time since 2023.

we're the first team since the '23 season to start the same five offensive linemen for all 17 games pic.twitter.com/EFxsEjkc7d
— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 8, 2026

The line was solid and the team didn't even have one of their best options in Alijah Vera-Tucker, who missed the season after suffering a triceps injury before the campaign. For the Jets, four of the five starters from 2025 are under contract in 2026, except Simpson. Vera-Tucker is also going to be a free agent.

Simpson has already said that he's open to coming back. It would be good to either bring him, or Vera-Tucker back for continuity's sake. When healthy, Vera-Tucker is the guy. Pro Football Focus called him the most underrated player on the Jets before the 2025 season. But will he be back? SNY's Lucas Hutcherson shared a story with five "bold" predictions and predicted he will not be.

"Tucker and Hall are both free agents, but senior figures within the organization have expressed their desire to extend both at various points," Hutcherson wrote. "It seems clear that the Jets would prefer to re-sign them, ideally before they get a chance to test the market. Hall appeared frustrated at times, but to his credit, continued to play hard until the end of the season. However, there will obviously be a market for him and he could favor a change of scenery having endured four straight losing seasons in New York. It could get messy if the Jets opt to franchise him.

"Vera-Tucker’s situation is complicated by injuries, without which he likely would have been able to command a market-setting deal. Wherever he goes, Vera-Tucker will likely need to accept an incentive-based deal, but he’s a player with widespread admiration from opposing teams. Although Vera-Tucker has spoken favorably about Aaron Glenn and the Jets organization, he’s another player who might like a chance to start over."

Arguably, Vera-Tucker should be a priority, despite missing the 2025 season and his injury history. At this point, fans know what they get with Vera-Tucker when he's healthy, and that's elite play. Imagine what this line could look like with a healthy Vera-Tucker, second year of Membou, and the rest still in place? That would be a dominant force for whoever is under center.

More NFL: Aaron Rodgers Shades Jets After Potential Final Game