To Alijah Vera-Tucker, it was a mutual understanding.

He met head coach Robert Saleh “in the middle,” he said.

They had a productive talk in the offseason, and by the end of it, Vera-Tucker left with the vision that the Jets would use him at one — and only one — position in 2024. 

His career had opened with consistency, with 16 starts at left guard as a rookie.

But across the two seasons that followed, which were shortened by a torn ACL in 2022 and a torn Achilles in 2023, Vera-Tucker bounced around to every spot on the line besides center. 

But this year, he said, the Jets have enough depth — with Vera-Tucker specifically referencing their backup options at tackle — to the point where they shouldn’t need him to pivot in emergencies, unlike last year, when he started three games at right guard and three games at right tackle before his season ended.

The quest to keep Vera-Tucker in one spot has gone according to plan through the first few weeks of camp. 

“It’s a good feeling knowing that they’re gonna take care of me and I get to develop at one position,” Vera-Tucker said Monday. “… Going back into the past, I wouldn’t change a thing, what I did. I wanted to help the team out, and that’s what I did. So yeah, I wouldn’t change a thing about that, but happy to be at one position.” 

That could all unravel, though.

There could be offensive line chaos to fix.

The last two seasons, the Jets needed to pivot and fill Vera-Tucker’s role on the fly, and he hasn’t made it through a full campaign since that rookie season. 

Vera-Tucker said he hasn’t felt any lingering pain in the Achilles, but there’s still an adjustment with the rhythm and flow of the position.

When he couldn’t practice fully in the offseason, he watched film of Cowboys guard Zack Martin and Colts guard Quenton Nelson — trying to decipher which qualities he could replicate to improve his pass blocking. 

“Over the years, he’s been pushed in so many positions, and now he finally gets to settle in one position and really hone in and take care of that position,” right tackle Morgan Moses, who was Vera-Tucker’s teammate with the Jets in 2021, said Monday. “And so for him, he’s finding that football’s becoming comfortable for him, that he can focus on one position and not have to move all around.” 

And on paper, the Jets do have some depth.

They shouldn’t be plunged into crisis mode by an injury or two, like last season.

That would allow Vera-Tucker’s shared vision with Saleh to come to fruition. 

“I think he’s in a great place,” offensive line coach Keith Carter said.