Jets lose Breece Hall and Alijah Vera-Tucker for the season, trade for Jaguars' James Robinson
Jets running back Breece Hall (20) runs for the end zone against the Denver Broncos during the first half of a game on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, in Denver. Hall scored a touchdown on the play. Credit: AP/Matt York
The Jets won their fourth game in a row on Sunday but suffered two big losses in the process.
Coach Robert Saleh announced Monday that running back Breece Hall and offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker — arguably the team’s two best performers on offense in 2022 — are out for the season.
Hall tore his right anterior cruciate ligament in the second quarter of Sunday’s 16-9 victory over the Broncos in Denver. Vera-Tucker suffered a triceps injury that will require surgery.
The Jets acted quickly to try to compensate for the loss of Hall, swinging a deal with the Jaguars on Monday to acquire James Robinson, a 1,000-yard rusher as recently as 2020 who tore an Achilles tendon against the Jets last December.
Newsday confirmed the trade, which the NFL Network reported would send a conditional sixth-round draft pick that could become a fifth-rounder from the Jets to the Jaguars.
Robinson, 24, ran for 1,070 yards in 2020 and 767 last year. He has run 81 times for 340 yards and three touchdowns this season but has seen Travis Etienne supplant him as the Jaguars’ No. 1 back.
Before news of the trade was reported, Saleh referred to Hall and Vera-Tucker as “two potential Pro Bowlers” but expressed faith in their apparent replacements, Michael Carter and Ty Johnson for Hall and Cedric Ogbuehi for Vera-Tucker.
Asked about his team’s psyche in the wake of such blows, Saleh said, “I think it’ll be fine.” He said he was thinking more of how badly he feels for the injured players.
“It sucks for them because of what they’ve been doing and the direction they’ve been going,” he said.
Hall, a rookie second-round draft pick, ran 62 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. His leg bent awkwardly on a second-quarter run, and he was through.
Through seven games, he leads the team in rushing attempts (80), yards (463) and touchdowns (four). He also has 218 receiving yards and a TD.
“Appreciate the endless love and support!” Hall posted on Twitter. “Another step along the journey, see y’all soon.”
The Jets figure to use Carter, Johnson, Robinson and Zonovan “Bam” Knight, who has been on the practice squad, as they try to fill Hall’s role.
“I prepare all the time like I’m the only back on the team, understanding that I’m not, which is totally fine,” Carter said. “I’m just saying that I prepare myself for games like that. So I don’t think my preparation is going to change.”
Asked if it has been difficult for him to share the load with Hall and if having more touches could help his game, Carter said:
“I’ve done it in the past, I’ve done it in certain weeks, I had to do it last year. But being able to carry that is something I’m very much capable of. So I don’t mind either [situation]. But I do hate that my dawg Breece got hurt and I’m obviously praying for him. But at the same time, I do want to be there for my teammates that are still playing.”
Carter rushed for 639 yards and four TDs as a rookie in 2021 and has 66 carries for 227 yards and two TDs this season.
Center Connor McGovern said of Carter: “M.C.’s a guy that the first guy that’s there isn’t going to tackle him. He makes that first one miss. He’s an O-lineman’s best friend. He always gains at least a yard.”
Vera-Tucker has made a name for himself this season with his versatility, playing both guard and tackle as injuries have wreaked havoc with the line.
Now Vera-Tucker himself is gone. Tackle George Fant is eligible to come off injured reserve this week, but Saleh said he probably is not yet ready to play.
McGovern said of the line flux: “Definitely not ideal, but there’s not a lot we can do about it. You got to just kind of take what’s given to you and then make the most of it.”
The Jets (5-2) will host the Patriots and Bills the next two weeks.
“I always say this: Somebody go up to Michael Carter and say that he can’t do it,” Saleh said. “Somebody go to Ty Johnson and tell him he can’t do it. Somebody go to Cedric and tell him that he can’t do it. They’re going to look at you sideways.
“We’ve got all the faith in the world in those guys that they can go in and step in and do the job . . . Nobody in our locker room will look at each other and say, ‘Well, we just got worse because we have to go with this guy.’ I promise you the person who’s stepping up is not thinking that. And I promise you we’re not thinking that, either.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
