Getty New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick making a gesture after an NFL game.
The New York Jets won a massive bidding war back during the 2019 free agency period.
It came down to the Baltimore Ravens and the Jets on who would win the right to sign veteran linebacker CJ Mosley. Ultimately Gang Green was willing to go to a place that the Ravens weren’t and they ended up with the ultimate prize at a massive cost.
The former Alabama standout signed a record-breaking contract that reset the linebacker market on a five-year deal for $85 million.
Things started off rocky with an injury-plagued first year and a COVID opt-out year in 2020. However, Mosley has become a stabilizing force and a key cog in Robert Saleh’s defense over the last two seasons.
Although according to some recent comments, Saleh isn’t the only one appreciating what Mosley brings to the table.
Patriots HC Bill Belichick Is Lurking in the Bushes for Jets LB CJ Mosley
The Jets played the Patriots on October 30 and they’ll get a chance at a rematch on Sunday, November 20.
Ahead of the first matchup, Bill Belichick went out of his way to praise Mosley:
“He is as good as any middle linebacker we play against all year. [Mosley] is a good tackler, runs well, he’s got good playing strength and explosion. He is a really smart football player that controls their front and just makes the right decisions on almost every play.”
#Patriots HC Bill Belichick heaped a ton of praise on #Jets LB CJ Mosley (@TreyDeuce32RTR) ahead of #NEvsNYJ, ‘as good as any middle LB we play against all year’ 👀 + loves his instincts, ‘he reads & diagnoses plays very quickly’: 🎥 @Patriots #ForeverNE #TakeFlight
Belichick followed that up this week with some more effusive praise for Mosley
“Belichick, unprompted, praised Mosley again, saying that he is “as good as anybody we play against as a player, but then he’s going to quarterback the defense. He gets things right for them like 99.9 percent of the time,” per Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.
Rosenblatt said the Jets have an “interesting decision” to make with Mosley’s contract. The former Alabama star turns 31 and has a massive cap hit over the next two years ($21.4 million).
If the Jets moved on this upcoming offseason they could save over $6.5 million on the cap, however, they’d suffer a $14.9 million dead cap hit.
Rosenblatt says if the Jets want to keep him at the very least they’ll have to restructure his contract again if not outright convince him to take a pay cut.
If that goes south Rosenblatt said “don’t be surprised if Belichick is the first one to call him” if and when Mosley became available.
Jets Have Questions at Linebacker
It seems like Mosley loves being here and Saleh has thrown a lot of rose petals at his feet. It makes sense that these two stay together for the foreseeable future but at the end of the day this is a business.
The other two starting linebackers in rotation are set to be unrestricted free agents this offseason.
Kwon Alexander didn’t have many options in free agency and the Jets gave him a chance to shine. Quincy Williams was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Jets were waiting to scoop him up off of waivers.
Perhaps the Jets can play the loyalty card in these negotiations to try and get them both locked in for the future.
Without the Jets these two wouldn’t be where they are and vice-versa. Despite a lot of questions from outside the building, this linebacking crew has shut a lot of those people up.