With Alijah-Vera Tucker suffering a season-ending injury in Denver for the second consecutive year, the Jets are forced again to find another capable fill-in on their offensive line.
Vera-Tucker, who missed the final 10 games last season with a torn triceps, had ably shifted from right guard to right tackle in Week 3, with Mekhi Becton switching sides to take over on the left side after veteran starting left tackle Duane Brown went down with a hip injury.
“I feel so bad for him, first, as a person. He’s worked so hard to get back,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said of Vera-Tucker before Thursday’s practice in Florham Park. “He’s been battling and battling, then we changed his position. He didn’t even blink an eye and he was playing at a high level and he was getting better. So, I just feel so bad for him because anytime you lose a guy for a year, it’s an unfortunate part about this business.
“To replace him, we’re working through that right now, just like we did a couple weeks ago and we want to try to get the best combination of guys that can work well together.”
The Jets haven’t revealed who will open Sunday’s home game against the undefeated Eagles at right tackle, but second-year offensive lineman Max Mitchell is likely the leading candidate.
Mitchell started five games as a rookie in 2022 after the Jets had drafted him in the fourth round out of Louisiana.
“Obviously, there’s gonna be some shifting around, but whoever starts, we gotta go out there and play and do the job,” Mitchell said after practice. “The line was already shuffled since the beginning of the season, so it’s nothing new to us.
“We all want to go out there and play our damn best every week. If I’m called, I’m ready to go, whatever it is.”
The Jets’ running game broke out for a season-high 234 rushing yards in last week’s win over the Broncos, including a career-best 177 from second-year back Breece Hall.
Mitchell said that blocking for the speedy Hall “is pretty fun” and noted that a continuation of that success in the running game will take pressure off quarterback Zach Wilson as he continues to play in place of injured starter Aaron Rodgers (torn Achilles).
“That’s something that we as a unit were planning on from the beginning. Whether [Rodgers] was out or not, we want to run the ball,” Mitchell said. “We feel like we’re making strides and we’re starting to get what we’ve been coached to do.
“Whoever is in there, I feel like the run game is really going to keep coming along and help Zach and his confidence. I think we can be that driving force that gets the team going.”
Another possibility to see time on Sunday is versatile guard/tackle Billy Turner.
The Jets also signed 11-year NFL veteran Dennis Kelly to the practice squad this week.
He played in Hackett’s system with the Packers in 2021, making four starts, and for offensive line coach Keith Carter for a few seasons earlier in his career with the Titans.
“Obviously with Keith, my time in Tennessee, my time with Hackett, there’s a familiarity, and that should help me be able to pick it up and get into the rhythm of everything pretty quickly. So signing here made sense that way,” Kelly said. “At this point of the year, people are starting to be banged up. I’m just trying to do what I can to catch up and be ready if my number is called.”
Asked if the coaching staff has given him any indication or a potential elevation to the active roster, Kelly added, “I haven’t heard anything, one way or the other. It’s kind of ‘knees bent and head on a swivel’ coming in at the middle of the season. It’s just learning the playbook, trying to catch up, learning the names of the players next to you, all the terminology.
“But with the familiarity, if it ends up happening this week, I’ll be ready.”
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