NY Jets open to extension talks with Alijah Vera-Tucker

Lost in the mass hysteria of Justin Fields’ training camp injury Thursday morning, the New York Jets provided an update on the future of one of their best offensive players.

Offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker is entering the final year of his rookie contract with the Jets. When healthy, he has performed as one of the best linemen in the game, both at guard and tackle.

The issue has been that he hasn’t stayed healthy. He has yet to play a full 17-game season, although he did appear in 15 last season, a strong sign that his durability concerns may end.

As the team kicks off the start of training camp, though, Vera-Tucker remains without an extension.

That could be changing soon, though.

New York has already extended two of their young stars on the roster. Wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner each received four-year deals worth over $120 million.

Both players are paid among the highest totals at their position.

Vera-Tucker should be next. While his durability has been a concern, the USC product is still only 26 years old. He has plenty of elite years in front of him.

On Thursday, it spoke volumes that head coach Aaron Glenn acknowledged Vera-Tucker as one of the team’s other building blocks.

“He’s a great player, and hopefully at some point we can try to talk and get something done,” Glenn said. “I mean he’s one of those guards that can do a lot as far as run off the ball for us, pass protect.

“He’s a big, strong man that’s been critical for how we want to play offensive football.”

Speaking to reporters for the first time to start training camp, Vera-Tucker kept the focus off any looming contract extension, while still making it clear that he wanted to stay in Florham Park.

“Right now, it’s just focusing on ball and getting the team right,” Vera-Tucker said. “But at the end of the day, I will always root for the Jets, it would be great to stay with the team that drafted me — I think everybody feels that way.

“Backing on what Sauce and Garrett said, I can see this thing turning around for sure, especially with Glenn being the type of coach he is, he praises physicality but even more accountability, that’s very important for a head coach to do. I haven’t seen that a lot my first few years.”

It’s very hard to find elite offensive linemen at the level that Vera-Tucker has played at. Many organizations are forced to overpay for linemen simply because there always seems to be a shortage of them through the draft and the open market.

During the 2025 offseason alone, players like Aaron Banks and Will Fries each received free agent contracts that were worth over $17 million per year. In 2024, Robert Hunt received over $20 million per year in his deal.

If New York isn’t careful, Vera-Tucker could hit the open market, where these contracts will be the floor for the 26-year-old.

That is why finding common ground on an extension is so important – and also why it seems the Jets are more than willing to get started on a new deal.