diff --git a/lib/nvme/nvme_tcp.c b/lib/nvme/nvme_tcp.c
index 1842e59af..a7d7c181e 100644
--- a/lib/nvme/nvme_tcp.c
+++ b/lib/nvme/nvme_tcp.c
@@ -1882,11 +1882,11 @@ nvme_tcp_admin_qpair_abort_aers(struct spdk_nvme_qpair *qpair)
 	cpl.status.sct = SPDK_NVME_SCT_GENERIC;
 
 	TAILQ_FOREACH_SAFE(tcp_req, &tqpair->outstanding_reqs, link, tmp) {
-		if (tcp_req->req->cmd.opc != SPDK_NVME_OPC_ASYNC_EVENT_REQUEST) {
-			continue;
-		}
 		assert(tcp_req->req != NULL);
 		req = tcp_req->req;
+		if (req->cmd.opc != SPDK_NVME_OPC_ASYNC_EVENT_REQUEST) {
+			continue;
+		}
 
 		nvme_tcp_req_complete(req, &cpl);
 		nvme_tcp_req_put(tqpair, tcp_req);