Early in training camp veteran offensive lineman Morgan Moses sheepishly found himself apologizing to quarterback Aaron Rodgers for his absence on the field at 1 Jets Drive.
“The first day I was in here I was complaining,” Moses said after his first practice in pads on Friday. “And Aaron was like, ‘hey man, we don’t need you right now.’ And I was like, ‘oh yeah, right, OK, Aaron said that’s OK. Right, let me take my time.’ But you know, you need that reminder especially as a veteran because all you know is work, work, work. You need that reminder sometimes to stay out of the way of yourself sometimes.”
Few would ever accuse Moses, 33, of being a slacker on or off the football field. He played seven seasons in Washington after being selected in the third round (No. 66 overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft, rarely missing a game after his rookie season. He was with the Jets in 2021, where he encountered a rookie O-lineman — Alijah Vera-Tucker — who will be at right guard, next to Moses in his reunion tour with the Green & White.
“I’ve played with AVT when he was a rookie and now to see him flourish and have that veteran mindset him being on the line and predetermined things before the ball is snapped,” Moses said.
In the coming season, Moses and Tyron Smith will form the veteran bookends on the projected starting offensive line that includes AVT, LG John Simpson and second-year center Joe Tippmann. While Moses toiled in Washington, two times every season he got to stand on the sideline and watch Smith as he did his thing at left tackle for the Cowboys.
