Jets linebacker CJ Mosley was on the wrong side of the final score Thursday night, but couldn't help but feel good about one of the guys who beat him.
Mosley and Browns quarterback Joe Flacco were teammates with the Ravens from 2014 to 2018 and again with the Jets in recent years. So he made sure to find Flacco after the Browns clinched a playoff spot with a 37-20 win. Browns fans chanted Flacco's name during the game and Mosley told Flacco, “this shit is crazy” as they hugged. Flacco agreed with his former teammate, who expressed his feelings in his postgame comments.
“Everyone always joked, even in Baltimore, 'Was he elite?'” Mosley said, via Jake Trotter of ESPN.com. “He shows it. Not many people, especially veterans like him and his age, just coming from home and hanging out with their kids, do what he did. I told him after the game it was crazy to hear the Browns fans screaming “Flacco!” That was pretty wild for me, but I'm happy for him. Of course we wanted to win, but as a friend, as a fan, I’m definitely happy for him.”
The Flacco story is one of the best of the 2023 season and some may wonder whether the Jets would have fared better if they had called him up about his return after Aaron Rodgers' injury, but Mosley ultimately decided to go a different route, he said and done Thursday evening in Cleveland.