There haven’t been many bright spots for the New York Jets in 2025, but their offensive line certainly has been one.
Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou, New York’s last two first-round picks in the 2024 and 2025 drafts, bookend the tackle spots.
Veteran John Simpson and 2025 free agent signee Josh Myers have held it down at guard and center, respectively, and Myers even earned himself a two-year deal this past week.
But there’s another player on the Jets’ offensive line who is deserving of an extension, and while he won’t be a free agent until 2027, New York would be wise to lock this young player down as soon as they can.
Jets Urged to Sign Joe Tippman to Extension
ESPN’s New York Jets beat writer, Rich Cimini, urged the team to give former second-round pick Joe Tippman an extension.
In his first year playing guard full-time, Tippman has excelled on the right side of the offensive line alongside Membou.
“Tippmann, signed through 2026 on his rookie deal, has proven to be a durable and versatile lineman, capable of playing guard or center. The former second-round pick is 17th out of 63 qualified guards in run block win rate this season,” wrote Cimini.
“The Jets can be proactive by signing him to a long-term deal. The most important pending free agent is running back Breece Hall. From all indications, they want to re-sign him.”
While Breece Hall is a priority because of his impending unrestricted free agency, Tippman remains urgent in his own right.
Over the next year or two, the Jets will have a young quarterback on the roster, and until they insert him in the starting lineup, they need to ensure he is in a position to succeed.
Building out the trenches around a young quarterback is one of the best things you can do in terms of development, and re-signing Tippman would lock in four of your five starters across the offensive line until at least 2027.
But even if New York does sign Tippman to the extension, they will still have a decision to make on their opposite guard spot next to Fashanu.
Who Will Be Playing LG in 2026?
In the hypothetical world where the New York Jets sign Tippman to an extension before the 2026 offseason, they still have one more decision to make on their final starting offensive lineman.
John Simpson and Alijah Vera-Tucker are both impending free agents, and each has their own pros and cons.
Vera-Tucker was the Jets’ 14th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and has shown Pro Bowl-level upside when on the field.
The problem is that he can unfortunately never stay healthy.
AVT has two seasons under his belt playing 15 or more games, but his other three have been marred by injury, two of which were season-ending.
The former USC standout tore his tricep in training camp last summer, pushing Tippman from center to guard for the 2025 season.
If New York can bring back their former first-rounder on a cheaper contract thanks to his injury history, it may be a no-brainer.
Simpson, on the other hand, is not as talented as Vera-Tucker but stays consistently healthy.
In two seasons with the Jets, he’s never missed a game.
General manager Darren Mougey will have a decision to make this offseason on the final guard spot, but either of those veterans would be a solid re-signing.
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