Jets turn to familiar face to fill need at tackle

In need of a tackle, the Jets will turn to a familiar face. The Ravens are sending Morgan Moses back to the Jets, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Moses, who played for the Jets in 2021, has been the Ravens’ starting right tackle for the past two years. This will be a pick-swap deal. The Jets will receive Moses and a fourth-round pick (No. 134), while the Ravens will collect fourth- and sixth-rounders (Nos. 112 and 218).

The Jets entered the offseason unlikely to bring back their primary 2023 tackles — Duane Brown and Mekhi Becton— and their O-line plan in front of Aaron Rodgers has been roundly criticized since the team acquired the future Hall of Fame quarterback. In Moses, the Jets will have a veteran in position to start at right tackle. Moses has made 144 career starts; 16 came with the Jets three years ago.

Going into his age-33 season, Moses is entering the final season of the five-year, $15M contract he signed in 2022. He is due a $5.5M base salary. With the Jets aiming for Becton to return and George Fant still under contract, they let Moses walk in 2022. Becton did not play that season, leaving the team in a pinch. That produced the late-summer Brown addition. The Jets need new answers with that contract and Becton’s rookie deal off the books.

Helping the Ravens to the AFC’s No. 1 seed, Moses ranked 20th in pass block win rate last season. The longtime Washington starter continued to display durability in Baltimore, missing only three games in his two-season starter run. Moses played in all 17 Jets games in 2021, initially landing in New York after being a mid-offseason cut. A 2014 third-round pick, Moses is one of the game’s longest-tenured tackle starters. He has been a first-stringer since the start of the 2015 season.

Pro Football Focus was even higher on Moses last season, slotting him 10th among all tackles; PFF ranked Moses 13th in 2022. Despite holding the NFL’s longest playoff drought, the Jets are far from rebuild mode. Adding a soon-to-be 33-year-old tackle adds up on the team’s timeline, with Rodgers — his recent proclamations aside — still probably in year-to-year mode. This Moses rental also would stand to ensure Alijah Vera-Tucker stays at guard, which has been the team’s preference after sliding the 2021 first-round pick over to right tackle — due to injury emergencies — in each of the past two seasons.

This trade will leave only Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum as the Ravens' 2023 O-line starters under contract. The team will keep Stanley on a pay cut but has lost Moses and left guard John Simpson. The team has swingman Patrick Mekari contracted, but the reigning AFC North champs will have some work to do. That said, Moses and Simpson both arrived before OC Todd Monken. That could factor in the team's willingness to move on from starters.