We have finally made it! The 2022 NFL season is just around the corner. The Baltimore Ravens hit the road this weekend to face the New York Jets in the season opener.
The game will feature some familiar faces for the Ravens as they face former players in starting linebacker C.J. Mosely and likely starting quarterback Joe Flacco. One of the Ravens will be a familiar face for the Jets as well.
Right tackle Morgan Moses signed a three-year contract worth $15 million with the Ravens in March. The former Jet on the Ravens roster is looking forward to facing his old team.
“It’s going to be fun. There are a lot of guys over there that I spent the year with last year and that I got to know, so I’m looking forward to it,” Morgan said. “I’m looking forward to being able to open up [the season on] Sunday, football in New York, and I look forward to it. I’m excited.”
Morgan was a third-round pick out of Virginia by the Washington Redskins in the 2014 NFL Draft. He signed a five-year, $400-million contract with Washington in 2017, but he was released last offseason with two years remaining on his contract.
The Jets swooped in and signed Morgan to a one-year deal but didn’t retain his services for this season. Pro Football Focus gave Moses a grade of 71.0 for the 2021 season. He played 1,022 snaps, allowing just four sacks and committing three penalties. Morgan started 16 games last season with the Jets but played for New York in all 17 games.
Met Life Stadium welcomes Moses back in his return. With the game being on September 11, in the New York area, Moses is preparing for an aggressive attack from his former team.
“I know Coach [Robert] Saleh; he’s going to have those guys on 100 – running around, fast football, pursuing,” Moses said of the Jets’ head coach. “So, we know they’re going to come out swinging, and it’s our job to stand at the plate and bat it out. I’m looking forward to it – it’s going to be a great game – and looking forward to going out there and going out there as a Raven.”
The Jets defense will be slightly different from when Moses was there since 2021 prized free agent signing Carl Lawson will be healthy and ready to contribute. Lawson tore his Achilles tendon in August and subsequently missed his entire first season with the Jets.
The additions of cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and outside linebacker Jermaine Johnson have the defense looking pretty dangerous. The additions appear to be panning out so far.
“One thing I know [is] they’re going to come out there with a lot of energy. They did a great job of flipping that roster,” Moses explained. “Even being there last year, you could feel that it was different, especially for me, [them] kind of giving me my first taste of what football really means, coming from Washington and things like that.”