Jets could receive surprising trade offers for unexpected starter (REPORT)

The New York Jets are widely expected to be sellers as we draw closer to the trade deadline early next month. At 0-5, any outside hopes the Jets had of competing for a playoff spot in 2025 have all but evaporated.

And with a number of key players on expiring contracts, it makes sense that the Jets will explore their options on the trade market. There are realistically only a handful of players who won't be made available in trade talks.

But while names like Breece Hall and Allen Lazard might receive most of the attention, one surprising Jets player is reportedly generating interest from other teams. It's a player few are likely even considering to be a feasible trade target.

NFL insider Ralph Vacchiano reported last week that Jets offensive guard Alijah Vera-Tucker is expected to "command interest" from teams around the league. Vera-Tucker is currently on season-ending injured reserve after suffering a torn tricep just days before the start of the 2025 season.

Alijah Vera-Tucker emerging as unexpected Jets trade candidate

A first-round pick of the Jets in the 2021 NFL Draft, Vera-Tucker has battled major injury issues in his five years with the team. A torn tricep caused him to miss all but seven games in 2022, while a torn Achilles limited him to just five games a year later.

Vera-Tucker returned and played through a mostly healthy 2024 season and was expected to be a key part of a revamped Jets offensive line this season before he once again suffered a torn tricep in practice less than a week before the team's season-opener against Pittsburgh.

Vera-Tucker has been one of the NFL’s better young guards when healthy, showcasing rare versatility by playing four of the five offensive line positions. Unfortunately, he’s now suffered three season-ending injuries in just five years — a brutal stretch for one of the team’s most talented players.

Those injuries raise serious questions about his long-term future, especially with the former USC star set to hit free agency this offseason. There's a very real chance that he's already played his final game as a member of the Jets.

That said, few would have probably expected his name to surface in trade discussions. It’s rare enough for a player on season-ending IR to be dealt midseason — even rarer when that player is just months away from free agency.

But if some team is looking to get a head start on exclusive contract negotiations before Vera-Tucker hits the open market, perhaps they'd be willing to send the Jets some sort of draft compensation.

Of course, even if the Jets don't intend to re-sign Vera-Tucker, they could let him walk in free agency and likely recoup a compensatory pick provided they don't sign more free agents than they lose.

That comp pick wouldn't come until 2027, but it might be a higher selection than what the Jets could receive from a team before the deadline. Those are decisions the Jets will have to make if they do, in fact, receive trade offers.

There's still a world where the Jets re-sign Vera-Tucker, likely to a short-term team-friendly deal, if injury concerns tank his market this offseason. That's partially why a midseason trade still feels unlikely.

But on an 0-5 team spiraling toward one of the top picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, very few players are safe from the trade market. Vera-Tucker is a surprising but feasible name to keep an eye on as the deadline approaches.