What Decision Will the Jets Make at Guard?
There’s a lot of talk about what the New York Jets plan on doing in free agency in 2026. Considering they have the fourth-most cap space in the league, they’re expected to make some major moves come March. Surprisingly, one of the most talked about possible contracts in the Jets comes as a retention: does the team resign Alijah Vera-Tucker or John Simpson at the left guard spot? Both are set to hit the open market, and both have come with their own pros and cons to a retention.
Vera-Tucker is a very interesting argument. On one hand, he was a captain in 2025, and when he’s on the field, he’s arguably the Jets’ best offensive lineman, but therein lies the issue: he hasn’t been on the field. AVT suffered a season-ending injury for the third time in 2025, and played zero snaps the entire year. Now, it can be argued that all of his injuries were freak accidents, none of them were relating to the other, and that it’s been bad luck that he’s been injured as much as he has. After all, anyone can get hurt on any play, but as the old saying goes, “two’s a coincidence, three’s a trend.” Are the Jets willing to hitch their wagon to a guy who might not even be on the field for them?
The issue is the opposite with John Simpson. When it comes to availability, Simpson has been a rock, starting all 17 games in 2025. The issue comes with the on-field play. Simpson isn’t bad, but he isn’t anywhere near AVT. He’s one of the two worst lineman on the Jets’ starting five, depending on how you feel about Josh Meyers, and had issues with penalties in 2025. Simpson is a leader in the locker room, but has only had one year of consistent above-average play. It all comes down to what the Jets prefer. The upside with AVT is tremendous. If he plays, then they’ll have a legitimate top-10 guard in 2026, and their line will truly be taken to the next level. If he gets hurt, then they have another massive hole on the offensive line. Do they go with the safe option in Simpson, or the ceiling option in AVT? Only time will tell.
