Even when the outlook remained murky, there have been nonetheless occasions when C.J. Mosley appeared to have ultimately an out of doors shot at returning this season.
Some gentle tackling drills after the Jets’ bye week on the finish of November.
A “progressing in the fitting path” replace at that very same juncture.
A full apply to start out this week, within the days main as much as their Week 14 sport in opposition to the Dolphins.
However any of these hints at progress have been erased Friday, when interim Jets head coach Jeff Ulbrich stated they deliberate to position Mosley — who hasn’t performed since Oct. 20 resulting from a herniated disc in his neck — on injured reserve, all however ending his season.
He’d be eligible to return for his or her Week 18 finale in opposition to the Dolphins after lacking the extra 4 video games required for an IR stint, however that would appear unlikely.
And with a cap hit of $12.784 million subsequent season, the ultimate yr of a five-year deal he inked again in 2019, Mosley may have performed his ultimate snap in a Jets uniform.
“A tough determination by a really prideful, wonderful participant, chief, all these issues for us,” Ulbrich stated Friday. “It was not a straightforward determination for him, nevertheless it’s the most effective determination for him and our group.”
Mosley had already missed three video games earlier this season with a toe damage, however the 32-year-old’s marketing campaign took a scary flip earlier than the Jets’ sport in opposition to the Patriots on Oct. 27 — simply his second after beginning to ease again into the lineup with a restricted function.
He gave a pregame speech on the sphere. He began to maneuver towards the opposite linebackers for warmups. It wasn’t completely different from some other week.
He’d accomplished this pregame routine numerous occasions earlier than. With the Jets. With the Ravens, who drafted him within the first spherical of the 2014 NFL Draft.
With Alabama, his faculty staff, earlier than that.
However then his neck “simply locked up,” Mosley stated final month, based on The Put up’s Brian Costello.
He felt a “burning” feeling. And that prompted loads of unknowns about what the remainder of his season — in addition to the remainder of his Jets and NFL careers — may appear to be.
After the damage, docs instructed Mosley that he wouldn’t want surgical procedure, however regardless of working towards in both a restricted or full capability all three days final week and logging a full session Wednesday, Mosley wasn’t in a position to heal sufficient for a return.
So his 2024 ledger will finish like this: 17 whole tackles, his fewest in a season since 2019, when he injured his groin simply two video games into his Jets profession and didn’t return the remainder of the season.
However when Mosley returned to his linebacker spot in 2021 — he opted out of the 2020 season, which occurred in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic — and stayed within the lineup, he turned the heartbeat of the Jets’ protection.
That’s what they initially signed him for again in 2019, when Mosley inked a five-year, $85 million deal after the Ravens let him stroll in free company.
He took a pay lower this offseason when he agreed to a revised two-year deal, however his function remained unchanged.
Mosley topped 152 tackles in every of the final three seasons getting into 2024 and served as one of many veteran voices within the locker room, serving to stabilize the Jets by their newest stretches of dropping and dysfunction.
“I might need some nightmares right here and there, however I’ll give you the option to fall asleep peacefully figuring out that I gave this staff and my teammates the whole lot,” Mosley instructed The Put up’s Mark Cannizzaro final week. “On the finish of the day, should you’re going to be on the best pedestal, you’ll be judged off the wins and losses and championships. That’s why I got here right here. That’s why I’m nonetheless right here. And, so long as I’ll proceed to be right here, that’s going to be my objective and my motivation.”
The Jets already possess a logical successor for changing Mosley within the short- and long-term.
Jamien Sherwood, in his fourth season, would wish a brand new contract within the offseason, however he has began 11 video games in Mosley’s spot this yr and leads the Jets with 107 tackles.
He additionally took over the inexperienced dot for communication, too.
However now, the Jets received’t have the quarterback of their protection once more Sunday, the remainder of the season and presumably into the long run.
As they enter a stretch full of unknown — about Aaron Rodgers’ outlook, about their new head coach, about their new normal supervisor, all of it — and uncertainty, Mosley’s future turns into the newest wrinkle.
