Top Free Agent Landing Spots For LB C.J. Mosley

New York has moved on to other younger options but the soon-to-be-33-year-old Mosley is not calling it quits on the NFL just yet. He’s hoping to catch on with another team and continue his career in 2025. Teams will understandably have major concerns about his neck injury but if Mosley gets medical clearance, his experience should land him a role somewhere. 

Even at his peak, Mosley was not the most adept coverage linebacker and that part of his game has not improved as he’s gotten older. Still, he should have value for teams. College football does not prepare linebackers for the NFL nearly as well as it used to and it’s not uncommon for players to take years to develop into contributors. Meanwhile, Mosley is a proven performer who can help a team today, whether it’s in run defense or leadership. 

Mosley, 32, is a former first-round pick of the Ravens back in 2014 out of Alabama. He played out the final year of his four-year, $8,788,002 rookie contract before the Ravens picked up his fifth-year option for the 2018 season.

Mosley made a base salary of $8,718,000 for the 2018 season before signing a five-year, $85 million contract with the Jets that included $51 million guaranteed. New York re-signed him to a two-year, $17.25 million extension last March.

However, New York released him with a post-June 1 designation after the 2024 season.  

In 2024, C.J. Mosley appeared in just four games for the Jets and made three starts, recording 17 tackles and no sacks.

We have him included in our Top 100 Available NFL Free Agents list. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Although the Buccaneers brought back Lavonte David for a 14th season, the rest of the linebacker room is tissue-thin. Tampa Bay has former mid-rounder SirVocea Dennis and Plan A would be for him to seize the second starting role next to David. Plan B is likely veteran Anthony Walker, Plan C is journeyman Deion Jones. 

If all of those fall through, the Buccaneers could turn to Mosley. He’s a proven, experienced commodity and if he’s healthy and playing at the level he was in 2023, he would bring more to the table than either Walker or Jones, the other veteran options in the room. He’s not a difference-maker at this point in his career but a playoff hopeful team like the Buccaneers just needs someone who can hold the fort down at the end of the day. 

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders have to be mentioned in any conversation about free agent linebackers because they have the worst group in the NFL as currently constructed. Las Vegas lost both Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo in free agency and wasn’t able to replace them in kind, either in free agency or the draft. Elandon Roberts was brought in, but he’s been primarily a two-down thumper for a few years now. As things stand now, he’d be on the field as the Raiders’ every-down linebacker. 

The team also added Devin White in free agency but he’s been cast aside by three teams in the past two years with minimal playing time. They took a flyer on Jaylon Smith, who last saw meaningful snaps in 2022. An amalgamation of late-rounders and undrafted free agents like Tommy Eichenberg, Amari Gainer, Cody Lindenberg, Michael Barrett and Jailin Walker round out the depth chart. 

With that context, it’s easy to see how Mosley would represent a massive upgrade, even if he just ends up being a replacement-level player at this point in his career. The Raiders do have a connection on the coaching staff in assistant Andre Carter, who was the DL coach for the Jets for part of Mosley’s tenure, and that could help grease the wheels and get a deal done. 

New York Giants

New York is an under-the-radar team to monitor in the linebacker market, as some discontent has been expressed with veteran LB Bobby Okereke who was signed before current DC Shane Bowen arrived last year. The Giants wouldn’t save a lot of cap space by cutting Okereke and have already paid him a $3 million roster bonus but a cut or trade would absolve them from his remaining $5.8 million base salary. 

Mosley would cost just a fraction of that amount and could be seen as a comparable player, or at least not a major downgrade. It’s also possible the Giants could bring him in if they want to try and upgrade the spot next to Okereke, currently held down by Micah McFadden, or if their depth becomes shaky in camp.

From Mosley’s perspective, landing with the Giants would be the least disruptive to his current life after spending the last six years with the other New York team. It’s also worth noting the Giants do have a connection on the coaching staff who knows Mosley, as secondary coach Marquand Manuel was on staff with the Jets while Mosley was there. 

Dallas Cowboys

Breakout Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown will likely miss this season as he rehabs a severe knee injury, leaving Dallas to rely on a group that includes veterans Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn and younger guys on rookie contracts like Marist Liufau, Damone Clark and Shemar James. It’s not a very deep or proven group. New Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus puts a premium on having a quality middle linebacker, and while the Cowboys traded for Murray to be that guy, if he falters or gets hurt they could be in the market for help. 

Tennessee Titans

Titans HC Brian Callahan has discussed the need for players to step up at linebacker this spring and summer. Tennessee signed veteran LB Cody Barton but the starting spot next to him and other roles on the depth chart will come down to a competition between rookie contract players like Cedric Gray, James Williams, Otis Reese or others. If no one steps up to seize the job, the Titans could look to a player like Mosley to hold down the fort. 

The post Top Free Agent Landing Spots For LB C.J. Mosley appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.