C.J. Mosley came to the Jets with a vision for something bigger than himself in mind.
Sure, he came for the free-agent money — $85 million over five years with $43 million guaranteed — because they all come for the money.
But there was a powerful bit of intrinsic value to his decision to sign with the Jets. After spending five seasons with the Ravens, Mosley came to a place where he believed he could make a lasting difference — to a franchise drowning in a losing culture.
Mosley, a four-time Pro Bowl linebacker, came to the Jets bent on changing that.
“That’s why I was brought here,’’ Mosley said. “That’s why I wanted to come here. I wanted to be a part of this organization, a piece that changed the losing culture. Obviously, this is a team sport and I can’t do it by myself.’’
If you listen to people around him, though, Mosley is doing a damn good job of leading the way.
“There’s a story worth writing,’’ Jets head coach Robert Saleh said when asked about Mosley. “This dude is unbelievable in every possible way you can imagine. He is an All-Pro player [and] he’s an all-pro human … a team-first guy and one of the more selfless individuals I’ve ever been around.’’
Saleh, in his first season with the Jets and first as a head coach, said he didn’t know what to expect from Mosley, the highest-paid player on the roster he inherited.
“When you’re a new staff coming [in] and you meet the high-priced guy that has been a Pro Bowler, it’s like, ‘Well, God, this guy might be a jerk,’ ’’ Saleh said. “This dude is one of the classiest human beings I’ve ever been around.’’
Jets general manager Joe Douglas called Mosley, who was signed a couple of months before he was hired in 2019, “very much a critical piece’’ to this team build.
“C.J. is really the standard,’’ Douglas said Tuesday. “If a young player were to come into this building and [want to know] how should he be as a pro, just check out C.J., just follow C.J, just be around him, because he’s going to show you the way. He’s an example for every player on this team.’’
Mosley was brought here for games like the one the Jets (2-5) have on Thursday night at Indianapolis, riding the high of Sunday’s upset victory over the Bengalsat MetLife Stadium. He already has spent part of the past two days emphasizing to his teammates that the home win over Cincinnati means little unless it’s validated with another one Thursday night on the road.
“I feel we’re definitely moving in the right direction,’’ Mosley said. “We just have to make sure that we don’t let a victory like [Sunday] get to our heads.’’
If you have any question about the kind of difference-maker Mosley is, consider that the only game he has missed this season (with a hamstring injury) was the 54-13 loss at New England.
A week later, with Mosley back, the same defense that the Patriots toyed with as a cat would with a frightened field mouse, was stoning the high-powered Bengals offense with an early goal-line stand that set a tone to victory.
“He’s the lifeblood, pretty much one of the main arteries to this team,’’ fellow linebacker Jarrad Davis said Tuesday.
“C.J. is an All-Pro linebacker, a guy you can’t replace,’’ defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins said. “He’s like the calm in all the chaos. Having him out there with us makes you want to raise your level of play, your sense of urgency to be on the same level he is.’’
Mosley’s tenure with the Jets has been disjointed, to say the least. He was having a dominant game in his Jets debut in 2019 when he suffered a groin injury that would wreck his season, causing him to miss 14 games.
The Jets were flying that September day at MetLife Stadium, leading the Bills 16-0 when Mosley went down. Without Mosley, they lost 17-16 and it feels as if they haven’t been the same since.
Mosley opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19 family concerns, so this is the first season when it truly feels like he’s a presence. He has played in six of the first seven games.
“Great teams find ways to win two games in a row and keep it going, so that’s our next challenge,’’ Mosley said of Thursday’s task. “Once we believe and keep believing, that’s when things are going to change.’’
When and if that time ever comes for the Jets, Mosley will have been that critical catalyst to change he came here to be, his vision will have been realized.
“I think he knows his importance to this team,’’ Douglas said. “He should know. It’s good to have him back.’’