PITTSBURGH — It was a strange sight to see in last week’s Jets game: linebacker C.J. Mosley playing just nine snaps.
Mosley has been the heart of the defense for the past four years.
He missed three games with a toe injury but was healthy enough to play in last week’s loss to the Bills.
Yet the Jets kept him restricted to the base defense in running situations.
Mosley, who is the consummate professional, accepts that his role may be reduced right now, especially with Jamien Sherwood playing well in his place.
Mosley said in past years he may have rushed back, but he trusts the defense now.
“I want to be out there as much as I can, but I believe this is not the same type of team or same defense,” Mosley said before the Jets’ Week 7 battle vs. the Steelers on Sunday night in Pittsburgh. “The guy that is backing me up at my position is doing a hell of a job. I wouldn’t say I don’t feel less pressure to get back on the field, especially when I’m not really 100 percent. If I was fully ready to go, I’d be out there going, but Sherwood’s been doing a great job. He’s been holding it down. I just have to keep progressing in my reps and show consistently that I can play with one bad toe.”
Mosley said the plan is for him to play a little more each week.
“As long as I keep progressing and stay healthy, then things should slowly get back to normal,” Mosley said. “I don’t want to feel good for one or two drives or go out there and reinjure it. It’s just a spot where if I jam it or it gets stepped on or something crazy happens, we go back to Day 1. I just have to be smart and try to stay aggressive or semi-aggressive.”
Mosley said he does not expect the toe to feel 100 percent until he stops running on it completely.
Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said the limited snaps is not the plan going forward, but they wanted to take it slow last week.
“It was just a byproduct of just easing him in,” Ulbrich said, “the fact that he missed multiple weeks, and we want to make sure that he is 100 percent before we play him at full capacity, so it was more a byproduct of being out a couple weeks.”
The Jets signed TE Anthony Firkser to the active roster. … They elevated safety Jalen Mills and CB Kendall Sheffield to the active roster for Sunday’s game and signed TE Brenden Bates to the practice squad.
DT Javon Kinlaw was fined $15,944 for unsportsmanlike conduct for verbal abuse of an official in last week’s loss to the Bills.