Jets' CJ Mosely Latest NFL Player to Opt Out of 2020 Season

Jets linebacker C.J. Mosely is opting out of playing football this season due to concerns over COVID-19.

Mosely joins a growing list of NFL players that includes six New England Patriots and Giants left tackle Nate Solder to opt out for health reasons.

Jets C.J. Mosley opted out of the 2020 season.

The hit is a huge one to the Jets, who would have loved to have had a healthy Mosley back this season to along with a healthy Avery Williamson to anchor the middle of the Jets defense. Last season both players were lost for the season with injuries.

Mosley was due to make $16 million this season, and already received $10 million in a roster bonus in March. He will not lose anything financially by opting out and the Jets won't be on the hook for this season because of the opt out.

The news also comes just a few days after the Jets traded away safety Jamal Adams to the Seattle Seahawks for draft picks, including two first rounders, and safety Bradley McDougald. While the Jets are considered deep at linebacker, losing a guy who had such a huge impact in a short period of time as Mosley did is going to hurt.

As mentioned above, Mosely joined a growing list of players to opt out, which is now over 30 players to be more specific. While the NFL has much more stringent policies when it comes to managing the Coronavirus as compared to Major League Baseball, players know full well that football is the highest contact sport to play in, and a health risk during a global pandemic.

Who knows at this point if we will have a season, and if we do would it look like the bastardized version of baseball that we have seen the past two weeks? Time will tell.

Nate Solder is one of those others to opt out. The Giants left tackle bowed out of the season citing concerns about his son's battle with cancer, and the fact he had his own battle with cancer as sole reasons to skip 2020.

With Solder now out, it will undoubtedly mean that rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas will get every opportunity to take and keep the starting left tackle spot.

Ironically both Mosely and Solder were signed to huge contracts by the Jets and Giants, in hopes they would be major contributors.

Mosely was on his way to doing that when he dominated one half of football at linebacker against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 last season. Unfortunately he was injured in the same game and missed the entire year.

Solder has struggled at times at left tackle, and never really recaptured the once dominant form he had in New England.

Speaking of New England, the Patriots have lost the most players to opt out including linebacker Dont'a Hightower, and safety Patrick Chung.