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C.J. Mosley was only able to give the Jets parts of two games last year after they gave him a five-year, $85 million contract.
This year he's ready to give them a lot more.
Mosley, whose first season with the Jets was ruined by a groin injury, said he's been "cleared to do everything" after undergoing surgery back in December and he fully expects to be ready for training camp - whenever that starts. He said he's progressed from where he was a month ago, when he still hadn't made any cutting movements.
Now he has.
"That won't stop me during the season from getting back on the field," Mosley said Wednesday afternoon on a video call with reporters. "Once I got that out of the way, now I'm pretty confident I'll be good to go."
He didn't commit to being a full participant in camp this summer, but it was still all good news. Mosley, of course, was supposed to be a key part of the Jets' defense last year but he suffered a serious groin injury in the third quarter of the season opener. He eventually came back for a Monday night game against the Patriots in Week 6, but he was "pretty much playing on one leg" and was basically shut down for the season after that.
So most of his first year with the Jets was spent rehabbing and working out on his own, essentially separated from the rest of his team.
"You really realize how much the game means to you when you're away for so long," Mosley said on Wednesday afternoon. "You kind of realize how much you love the game, and how much it means to you to be out there with your teammates. You definitely get a little isolated."
The Jets actually ended up having the NFL's seventh-ranked defense last season even with Mosley out of the lineup, but there's no doubt they'll be better with the four-time Pro Bowler on the field. The Jets' linebacking corps was severely undermanned with Mosley out most of the season and Avery Williamson (knee) out all season long. The status of Williamson, who tore his ACL last preseason, is still unclear.