On Saturday, the fourth former Crimson Tide football player to opt out of playing in the 2020 season was current New York Jets linebacker CJ Mosley.
Mosley made it clear during an interview with the Wounded Warrior Project “virtual chalk talk,” as to why he chose to opt out:
“As of two days ago, I chose to opt out of this season. So I mean that’s probably the biggest football decision I’ve made in a long time, probably since I picked what college I was going to.
That’s a book I’ve got to start writing pretty soon, figure out what’s the next step because there’s a lot of negative things people can say as far as me not playing two years, and there’s a lot of positive things that we can say.
Because of Covid-19, my family is my support system with my son, so I didn’t want to risk that. It’s a full team sport, but sometimes people got to get better on their own. They got to look out for — we’re in a different situation — but I’ve got to look out for my family, too, so sometimes you got to make that small sacrifice that some people might not understand right now. But when you come out on top, everybody’s going to be on your side cheering for you.”
Mosley also shared how he was going to use this time to work on bettering his skills and how he plans to keep training in the offseason:
“I’m out a whole year. So I’ve got all this time to mentally get better, physically get better, kind of readjust and kind of find that flame again. … I think just looking at the big picture, just 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.”
All this to say, the Jets will be without Mosley for the second year in a row.
In 2019, Mosley only played in just 2 games before missing 14 games with a groin injury.
While at Alabama, Mosley quickly became a defensive leader. Not only did he help lead Alabama to 2 national championships, he also finished his career at Alabama with 317 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, 5 interceptions, 3 defensive TDs, 17 passes deflected and 1 forced fumble.
Mosley was drafted as the 17th overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens of the 2014 NFL Draft where he played from 2014-2018.
While in Baltimore, he recorded 579 total tackles, 8.5 sacks, 9 interceptions, 1 touchdown, 6 forced fumbles and 5 fumble recoveries.
In 2019, Mosley signed a five-year, $85 million deal with the New York Jets. Last season, he recorded 9 tackles, 1 interception, and 1 touchdown.
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