2024 has been a disappointing year for many Jets players, veteran linebacker C.J. Mosley among them. Mosley recently landed on injured reserve, thus ending his season after just four games played, and our Adam La Rose speculated that the 32-year-old defender could become a cap casualty in the coming months. Today, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reported that Mosley is indeed expected to be released this offseason.

Mosley, who was selected by the Ravens in the first round of the 2014 draft, earned Pro Bowl acclaim in four of his five seasons in Baltimore, setting himself up for a lucrative payday after he played out the fifth-year option of his rookie deal in 2018. He signed a five-year, $85MM contract with the Jets in March 2019, which shattered the then-record for inside linebackers and which felt like an overpay at the time, even when taking his Pro Bowl accolades into account.

Indeed, authorizing Mosley’s contract was one of then-GM Mike Maccagnan’s final acts at the helm of the Jets’ front office, as he was fired in May 2019 and replaced by Joe Douglas a month later. Gang Green felt the financial burden of Mosley’s deal even more acutely when the Alabama product played in just two games of the 2019 season due to injury and exercised his COVID opt-out for 2020.

However, he settled in nicely over the following three seasons, averaging nearly 160 tackles per year and earning another Pro Bowl nod in 2022. Last season, the advanced metrics finally placed him among the ranks of the game’s elite middle linebackers, as Pro Football Focus assigned him an 82.9 overall grade that was good for the sixth-highest mark out of 82 qualified players.

This offseason, Mosley – who was originally slated to be a free agent after the current campaign – agreed to a brief extension that keeps him under club control through 2025. By signing that deal, Mosley agreed to a pay cut in exchange for additional guarantees, though just over half of his $8.25MM salary for 2025 is guaranteed. In order to minimize Mosley’s cap hit in 2024, when the Jets were fully expecting to contend, the club tacked on three void years, which means that it will be taking on $16.4MM in dead money if it follows through with a 2025 release.

Nonetheless, New York could still save money against the cap by designating Mosley a post-June 1 cut and spreading the dead money tab over two years. The team will also be led by a new GM, who will likely not be too worried about incurring dead money generated by the Douglas regime.

The Jets have already agreed to a re-worked contract once with linebacker C.J. Mosley. The parties may end up doing so again as they continue exploring their financial options this offseason.

New York has approached Mosley’s agent about a restructure, per the New York Post’s Brian Costello. The 30-year-old is due to count $21.5MM on the Jets’ capsheet for each of the next two seasons. That setup is the result of the re-worked contract the sides agreed to before the start of the 2022 campaign, which also saw two void years tacked onto the deal.

Mosley signed a five-year, $85MM pact in 2019, one which helped raise the ceiling of contracts at the position. He joined the Jets with substantial expectations given those terms, along with his level of play with the Ravens at the start of his career. However, the former first-rounder played just two games in his first year in the Big Apple and opted out of the 2020 season.

He has delivered much more signficant performances in the past two years, though. Mosley logged seasons of 168 and 158 tackles in 2021 and ’22, respectively, adding three sacks, nine pass deflections and one interception over that span. He was named a Pro Bowler and earned second-team All-Pro honors for the fifth time in his career last season. Lowering his cap hit would would have obvious benefits in the short-term future, though adding further to his cap burden down the line represents a notable downside.

“They talked to my agent. I’m not really concerned or worried about it too much,” Mosley said about the situation. “I come here to work every day, focused on getting better and trying to win a championship and being the best player I can be. Whatever happens, happens. It hasn’t been a concern.”

The Jets currently have $24.8MM in cap space, but they have yet to work out a new deal with Aaron Rodgers, something which will be necessary to avoid a 2024 cap hit of over $107MM. Moving on from Mosley, meanwhile, would result in considerable dead money charges in each of the next two years, providing potential incentive to agree to another restructure this offseason. It will be interesting to monitor how the Jets proceed with their remaining financial hurdles given their win-now approach.