Patriots' Alijah Vera-Tucker sends inadvertent shot at Jets fans

One of the bigger gut punches of free agency for New York Jets fans was when offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker left in free agency.

It wasn't so much that he decided to leave New York. Fans knew that was a possibility entering the offseason, the former first-round pick was going to test his market. The real twist was that he decided to take his talents to the Jets' AFC East rival, the New England Patriots.

Vera-Tucker signed a three-year, $42 million deal with the Patriots early on in free agency and figures to start at guard for them this upcoming season. He was easily their big-ticket free agent addition.

After joining New England, the former Jets offensive lineman had positive things to say about his former team, despite leaving them for greener pastures. But his most recent comments weren't so kind to his former fans, whether he meant to take a shot at them or not.

Former Jets OL Alijah Vera-Tucker raves about Patriots fans' energy

Talking with reporters, Vera-Tucker was asked what excited him the most about playing in front of the New England crowd.

"Just the energy man, you know, honestly, every time being with the Jets the past five years, whenever the Patriots either came to MetLife or we came out here, it was always great energy. Passion. You could really feel it. So, I’m definitely looking forward to that."

Alijah Vera-Tucker

While Vera-Tucker didn't come out and say Jets fans don't have as good energy as Patriots fans, he certainly implied it with his comments.

Sure, maybe MetLife Stadium isn't the most vociferous home crowd in the NFL, but that's not an indictment of Jets fans. Maybe if the team gave people more to cheer about, there would be more folks packing the empty seats in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Regardless, the Jets are still at the top of the league in terms of attendance. According to ESPN, MetLife Stadium had an average of 73,360 fans in the building this past season, despite a 3-14 record.

That number is far better than New England, which averaged 64,628 fans per home game. Maybe Patriots fans had more to cheer about, but you can't question the loyalty of the Jets faithful.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow