Report: Linebacker CJ Mosley retiring from NFL

For a decade, CJ Mosley was among the fiercest linebackers in the NFL. Now, per a report from CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, he’s calling it a career and retiring from the NFL.

It was an excellent career for CJ Mosley. Coming out of Alabama, where he won the Butkus Award, Mosley was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and won back-to-back national titles. He was then selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He kept things rolling in the NFL, quickly picking up accolades.

Over the course of his career, Mosley was a five-time Pro Bowl selection, a five-time Second-Team All-Pro selection, and found himself on the PFWA All-Rookie Team. The majority of that success came during his Ravens tenure. However, he would also make one of those Pro Bowls with the New York Jets.

For his career, Mosley played in 133 games, starting 132 of those games. He had 1,083 career tackles, 55 tackles for a loss, and 12 sacks. That’s an average of 138 total tackles over a 17-game season. He also had 12 interceptions and 53 passes defended for his career.

Mosley spent the first five seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens. Then, in 2019, as a major free agent, he would sign a five-year, $85 million deal with the New York Jets. That first season, he was severely limited for the first time in his career with a groin injury that eventually landed him on injured reserve. He’d then sit out the entire 2020 season due to the pandemic, making for a slow start to his tenure with the Jets.

For the next three seasons, 2021 through 2023, Mosley was able to return to the field more consistently. That included playing at a very high level and making his fifth and final Pro Bowl in 2022. However, in 2024, he was again limited by injuries, in this case to his toe and neck. In the offseason, the Jets made the decision not to bring him back.

Looking to replace Mosley, the Jets drafted Francisco Mauigoa in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. They also signed three undrafted free agents at linebacker. They also signed Jamien Sherwood to a three-year contract.

With the calendar now deep into June and offseason programs around the league well underway, CJ Mosley still didn’t have a new team. It appears that, as the season went on, he was able to look back on his career and make the decision that it was time to hang his cleats up.