Mosley hasn’t lost a step
After two seasons out, Jets LB proves he’s still got it
C.J. Mosley spotted something in Tennessee’s offense he didn’t like, so he did something on the field that’s usually a total no-no for the New York Jets.
He changed the defensive alignment.
And, sure enough, it resulted in a big play last Sunday.
“He did something we’ve never had a linebacker do in our system,” coach Robert Saleh said with a smile. “It was a sack, and if you listen to the TV copy and you guys see him, he’s demonstrative and it looks like he’s making a play call, like he’s changing the defense — which he is, which we don’t do. Once a call goes in and we’re rolling.”
Saleh and some other defensive coaches shouted at linebackers coach Mike Rutenberg: “What is he doing?”
Mosley was being who he has always been: a quarterback on defense.
“He got us into the perfect play call, and we got a sack because the quarterback hitched,” Saleh said of the play during the Jets’ 27-24 OT win. “And I was like, ‘Well, that’s why he’s an All-pro.’ So, good job, C.J.”
The 29-year-old Mosley missed all but two games in his first two seasons with the Jets — including opting out last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. That left many wondering if the middle linebacker would be close to the same player he was for five seasons in Baltimore, where he was a fourtime
Pro Bowl selection and four-time second-team All-pro.
But Mosley remade his body, refocused and is clearly rejuvenated. Through four games, Mosley has been every bit the playmaker he once was, leading the Jets with 37 tackles to go with a sack, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed.
“He’s as locked in as I’ve ever seen a player,” defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins
said.
More Jets: Saleh says safety Marcus Maye has the team’s support as the star player deals with legal issues stemming from being charged in February with drunken driving after a car crash in Florida. Saleh said Wednesday he and Maye had “a really good conversation” that was initiated by the safety. He declined to say whether he and the team previously knew — although he implied as much — about the accident and arrest first reported by ESPN on Monday night . ... Rookie WR Elijah Moore was limited as he works through the concussion protocol, but is expected to be fully cleared Thursday and play against Atlanta in London on Sunday. … Saleh said rookie LB Hamsah Nasirildeen, placed Tuesday on IR with an undisclosed injury, will be sidelined three weeks.
Patriots: Free agent linebacker Jamie Collins agreed to a new deal with New England . ... Carolina acquired veteran cornerback and 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore from the Patriots for a 2023 sixth-round draft pick.
Bears: Coach Matt Nagy has made Justin Fields his first-string quarterback going forward and has moved Andy Dalton into the backup role.
Bengals: Cincinnati running back Joe Mixon is day to day with an ankle sprain.
Cowboys: Suspended Dallas offensive lineman La’el Collins sued the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, seeking an injunction to stop the remaining two games of a five-game ban over substance-abuse violations.
Jaguars: Urban Meyer says he never considered resigning following a viral video of the coach at an Ohio bar and adds he has received support from several members of his team’s leadership council.
Lions: Detroit put center Frank Ragnow (toe injury)on injured reserve.