Longtime captain departs as Earthquakes’ roster shakeup continues

After a last-place finish in the MLS, the San Jose Earthquakes were bound to look different next season.

With a high-profile new coach already in hand, the Earthquakes continued to reshape their roster with a pair of transactions Wednesday.

While San Jose said farewell to longtime midfielder Jackson Yueill, the Earthquakes welcomed defender Nick Lima as the first free-agent addition under coach and sporting director Bruce Arena.

Lima signed a two-year contract with a club option for 2027 in a full-circle move that brings the Castro Valley native back to where he began his pro career.

“I look forward to having Nick on the team,” Arena said in a news release. “His experience in this league and versatility will help strengthen our defense. Nick grew up in the Bay Area and had a lot of success here coming up through the Quakes’ system, so there’s an added familiarity with the club.”

Lima, 30, graduated from the Quakes Academy in 2016 and signed a homegrown player contract with San Jose, where he played his first four professional seasons. After being traded from Austin FC to the New England Revolution last season, he started 20 of 25 matches while contributing one goal. In eight seasons, he has scored nine times and assisted on 20 other goals over 16,775 career minutes while also earning nine caps for the U.S. national team in CONCACAF competition.

“I’m really excited to get back to the Bay Area and play in front of everyone again, especially friends and family,” Lima said in the release. “I made some great memories with the Quakes in the past, and I look forward to making even better ones. I can’t wait to get back to work.”

Lima became the fourth former New England player to join the Earthquakes this offseason after the club swung a trade last week to acquire defender Dave Romney and midfielders Ian Harkes and Mark-Anthony Kaye from the Revolution.

And that’s not all the movement between the two clubs.

Yueill, who spent his first eight professional seasons with the Earthquakes, signed a three-year deal to join New England.

A Minnesota native who was named captain in 2021, the 27-year-old attacker was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dark stretch for the Earthquakes, who went a league-worst 6-25-3 in 2024. A first-round pick in 2017, Yueill went on to amass 13 goals and 19 assists over 232 career matches, tallying the sixth-most minutes of any player in the MLS since 2020.

The Earthquakes commemorated his time with the club with a highlight video posted on social media.

From his first touch to his last goal, Jackson Yueill has left his mark on the Quakes.

Thank you for the memories, Jackson! pic.twitter.com/OV2MauMzXa

— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) December 18, 2024