The New York Jets are one of the biggest surprises of the 2022 NFL campaign. Through the first chunk of the season, Robert Saleh’s team sits at 5-2 and in contention for the AFC East in a stunning development.
Unfortunately, they will be without rookie running back Breece Hall for the rest of the season after he tore his ACL. However, there is another injury which could be even more crushing to the Jets’ chances — former USC OL Alijah Vera-Tucker suffered a cruel blow.
According to Jets Wire, Vera-Tucker will miss the remainder of the season with torn triceps, and there is a discussion that his loss is even bigger than the loss of Hall.
If you saw the Jets play offense on Sunday in Denver against the Broncos, you could see that New York is weighed down by considerable limitations it will have to push through if it is going to retain playoff position in the second half of the NFL season.
It’s not only Breece Hall. #Jets coach Robert Saleh announces that standout OL Alijah Vera-Tucker will miss the rest of the season with a torn triceps.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 24, 2022
OL Alijah Vera-Tucker going down for the year is arguably a bigger blow to the Jets than losing RB Breece Hall. Two really good young players gone, just as the team is hitting its stride.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 24, 2022
The 2021 first-round pick has been a key piece up front for the Jets. Vera-Tucker played in 16 games as a rookie last year. He had suited up and played in every game for the Jets this year, so his loss will be tough to overcome for a team that has shown a ton of promise up to now.
More than that, Vera-Tucker joins a long list of Jets OTs to hit the injured reserve.
#Jets OTs on injured reserve this season:
• Mekhi Becton
• George Fant
• Duane Brown (has returned)
• Max Mitchell
• Alijah Vera-TuckerLosing your top 5 offensive tackles (one of whom is a converted OG) to injury is ridiculous man.
— The Jet Press (@TheJetPress) October 24, 2022
Vera-Tucker has brought versatility to the offensive line and has been the guy to fill in where needed with all of the injuries.
Alijah Vera-Tucker played LT for USC in 2020 … LG for the #Jets in 2021 … RG in Week 1 for the Jets this year … LT in Week 4 … RT in Week 5.
It can't be overstated how wild that is.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 9, 2022
But, unfortunately, he won’t suit up for the rest of the 2022 season and will try to recover in time to start training camp.
[mm-video type=video id=01gg81ds4z6bf64ak5x0 playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gg81ds4z6bf64ak5x0/01gg81ds4z6bf64ak5x0-f31a697dec862fc2f3bef377504f58e3.jpg]
[listicle id=50660]