C.J. Mosley is ready to tackle life beyond playing football.
A five-time Pro Bowl selection during an 11-year NFL career with the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens, Mosley announced Thursday, his 33rd birthday, that he's retiring.
Mosley was released by the Jets in March after playing in just four games last season because of a toe injury and later a herniated disk in his neck.
A popular playmaker and leader during his career, Mosley made his announcement with a 2-minute, 10-second video post on his Instagram page titled “Once upon a time ...” that included highlights of his playing career.
“Today, it is time to wake up from my childhood dream and share it with the next generation,” Mosley said. "I spent my whole life and career building my legacy. Now it's time to start a new chapter with new dreams. It won't be easy, but I'm here to tell you every sacrifice is worth it.
“When you wake up, what will your legacy look like?”
Mosley, the 17th overall pick by Baltimore in the 2014 draft out of Alabama, had nearly 1,100 tackles with 12 sacks, 12 interceptions, 10 forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries and three touchdowns.
He played five standout seasons with the Ravens before signing a five-year, $85 million contract with the Jets in 2019 and was the heartbeat of New York’s defense during his tenure as one of the NFL’s top tacklers.
Both the Jets and Ravens posted congratulatory messages for Mosley on social media.
“Captain! Thankful for the memories we couldn’t have asked for a better leader!” former Jets teammate and current Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers commented on Mosley's post.
“Half-Man Half-Amazing congrats on a great career bro,” former Ravens teammate and current Baltimore assistant special teams coach Anthony Levine wrote.
Mosley, who is from Theodore, Alabama, was rated as one of the top high school linebackers in the country before heading to Tuscaloosa to play for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide after getting offers from several top football programs.
He made a quick impact in college, earning Freshman All-American honors, and helped Alabama win consecutive BCS national championships during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Mosley also was selected the SEC defensive player of the year and won the Butkus Award in 2013 as college football's top linebacker.
Mosley became the first Ravens player voted to the Pro Bowl as a rookie. He made the Pro Bowl three more times before leaving for New York and signing what was then the largest free agent deal for an inside linebacker.
Mosley had an impressive debut with the Jets with five tackles and returned an interception by Josh Allen for a touchdown against the Bills, but he injured his groin in the third quarter and played in just one more game that season.
He opted out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but returned the following season and reestablished himself as a consistent playmaker who routinely was among the NFL leaders in tackles while playing in all but one game during the next three years. Mosley, who made his final Pro Bowl in 2022, was voted a team captain during each season he played in New York.
Mosley also was praised by then-coach Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in 2021 when the linebacker remade his body by slimming down from 250 pounds to 231 to be more mobile in New York’s faster sideline-to-sideline defense.
He was limited to just four games last season by his toe and neck injuries, but said in January he didn't anticipate not playing again.
“My main goal is just to really get back to 100% so I can work out and run and do everything I need to, then just take it from there,” Mosley said. “I mean, I don’t have any thoughts about retiring or anything. So my main focus is just to make sure I’m 100% on the field and off the field.”
Jamien Sherwood, who replaced Mosley last season when the veteran was injured, led the Jets in tackles and was re-signed to a three-year, $45 million contract in the offseason — signaling an end to Mosley's time in New York.
“C.J. was the epitome of a class act as a teammate, player and leader for the last six seasons,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement when Mosley was released.
Sherwood said last week during the Jets' minicamp that he stays in close contact with Mosley, who lives near his former teammate.
“We always get our hair done together,” Sherwood said with a smile. "So whenever the hair lady comes to town, we get our hair done. I actually just texted him just to check up on him because, again, without him, this process for me would not be possible.
“From the day I got here, he just poured into us. He let us know everything and I miss having him in the room. It’s definitely a hole in the wall without him. ... He’s my brother from another mother. And, you know, I love him.”
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FILE - New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley (57) during an NFL football game against he Tennessee Titans Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
