C.J. Mosley didn’t take his decision to opt out of the 2020 season lightly.
The four-time Pro Bowl linebacker was coming off an injury-plagued season that limited him to just two games in his debut campaign with the Jets, but in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mosley decided it was best to sit the season out and wait until 2021.
“It was definitely tough,” Mosley said Thursday, speaking with reporters for the first time since deciding to opt out. “Being looked at as one of the leaders on the team, one of the veterans on the team, it was tough to make that decision…I stayed in touch with the linebacker room, I stayed in touch with the linebacker coaches at the time. It was no hard feelings as far as our room went. That made me feel a little more comfortable.”
Mosley, who was entering the second year of a five-year, $85 million deal at the time, consulted multiple people around the team and his family before deciding to opt out of a season that was supposed to be his reintroduction following recovery from season-ending groin surgery before COVID hit and led many players to opt out of the season.
“It was a tough decision,” Mosley said. “I was talking it over with my family multiple times. I talked to my brother. I talked to Coach [Adam] Gase at the time. I talked to other coaches. We even had a psychiatrist on staff with us that was with Coach Gase. I had multiple talks with her, so it was just the best decision for me and my family. That’s what it ultimately came down to. I just felt it was the best thing for me to do.”
Mosley understands there may be critics following that decision, and those who are waiting for the former Raven to show why he was worth that big contract. To those skeptics, Mosley is admittedly coming into 2021 with an added motivation to silence those doubts and reintroduce himself to the league.
“There's a little added chip because you've always got your fans that are going to heckle,” Mosley said. “When I get back on the field, I definitely want to make sure they respect the name again.”
Mosley has the prior performance to back up his confidence, having tallied three straight Pro Bowl seasons before signing with the Jets, and all five of his seasons in Baltimore ended with at least 92 tackles to his credit. The 2021 season will be his first attempt at stringing together a full season since 2018, but Mosely, citing the efficiency of recent examples like Ron Gronkowski, isn’t worried about the long layoff. His only concern is reminding Jets fans and his opponents that he is still the linebacker he was three years ago.
“I'm here,” Mosley said. “So we'll let the play do the talking.”
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