A few days after it was reported that C.J. Mosley was opting out of the 2020 season due to family health concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jets linebacker has explained his decision.
Mosley spoke about the choice Monday while participating in a Facebook Live event aimed at raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project. Mosley, who has a young son at home, told the Jets he was sitting out the season over the weekend.
“That’s probably the biggest football decision I’ve made in a long time, probably since I picked what college I’m going to,” Mosley said. “That’s a book I got to start writing pretty soon. What’s the next step? Because there’s a lot of negative things people been saying as far as me not playing two years. And there’s a lot of positive things that are being said.
“I’m out all year so I have all this time to mentally get better, to physically get better, kind of readjust and kind of find that flame again.”
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The Jets placed Mosley on the Reserve/Opt-Out List on Monday.
This upcoming season was supposed to be Mosley’s second in New York, but his contract will instead be pushed back a year. Mosley signed a five-year, $85 million deal with Gang Green two offseasons ago, but he played in just parts of two games during his first season with the Jets due to a lingering groin injury.
Now, with the NFL attempting to play through a global pandemic, Mosley is stepping away. His focus will be on keeping his family safe and returning to the sport in 2021.
“Because of COVID, my family is my support system with my son. I didn’t want to risk that obviously,” Mosley said. “Just looking at the big picture, for me, I want to make sure I’m mentally and physically the best person I can be so I can be that leader I know I can be.
“It’s a full-team sport. Sometimes people got to better on their own. We’re in a different situation, but I’ve got to look out for my family. Sometimes you got to make that small sacrifice. That’s something you might not understand right now but when you come out on top everybody’s going to be on your side cheering for you.”
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