Mosley Back; Caldwell Not Commenting On What Prompted Suspension

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said defensive tackle C.J. Mosley is back with the team after serving nine days of what was originally termed a two-week suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

"He's served his suspension - that's one week for the Falcons and then this past bye week,," Caldwell said Monday at his weekly press conference. "He's now back with us and we'll be moving forward from this point in time."

Caldwell refused to comment on a report Mosley was caught with marijuana in London after disconnecting a smoke alarm in his hotel room. The team sent Mosley home Saturday, Oct. 25, the day before the Lions played the Atlanta Falcons.

"If it is true, if it's not true, all those things, I'm not going to respond to it," Caldwell said. "Like I said, it wasn't released from our organization."

Caldwell also declined to discuss whether Mosley is facing charges in London or whether Mosley will receive further punishment from the NFL. Caldwell said the latter issue is one for the league and the union and not one on which he will comment.

Mosley addressed the situation vaguely and briefly Monday afternoon, beginning with an apology to the organization, his teammates, his family and fans. He walked away from his locker after about 30 seconds, saying the apology would be the extent of his comment on the matter, but he did answer a few more questions as reporters trailed him out of the locker room.

"Everything in the report ain't what it is, but at the same time, I've got to take responsibility for it," Mosley said.

Having to watch his teammates play without him in London "sucked," Mosley said, but he declined to specify what prompted his suspension.

"It is what it is," Mosley said. "Punishment is what is was. I've got to man up and take responsibility on that."

ESPN reported Mosley filed a grievance with the league to contest the suspension and docked pay. Asked where that grievance stands, Mosley said it "is where it is right now, and I'm going to let that take care of itself."

Caldwell said in his press conference the team was made aware of the rationale behind Mosley's suspension.

"Without question, whenever we take an action, I think the team understands what we're trying to get accomplished, and we explain it to them and move forward," Caldwell said.

In response to a question of how detrimental smoking marijuana can be to a player's performance on the field, Caldwell said he had not done enough research to be able to give an informed answer. His personal feelings on the matter, he kept to himself.

"My personal views don't matter," Caldwell said. "I keep my personal views out of everything - religion, et cetera, I try to keep those as free as I possibly can. We deal in a situation where we're working with an organization, and we do things [according] to the rules."

The coach did not disclose who decided on the length of the suspension.

"Everything that we do, we basically consult the entire organization," Caldwell said. "We talk about it. There's nothing that anybody does on an island, I don't think, that's done in any organization, so the answer would be it was collective, as always."

Mosley will be more important to the Lions than ever in the coming weeks since defensive tackle Nick Fairley suffered a knee sprain in the game in London and will miss at least a month. Caldwell said the team has no better feel now for when Fairley will return than it did in the days following the injury.

"Right he's under the doctors' care and their supervision," Caldwell said. "I know he's gotten a couple of opinions, and hopefully it'll be just one of those things where he can heal and we'll see what happens in a couple weeks and kind of make a determination from there."

Once again, Caldwell did not rule out the possibility of Fairley being out for the season.

"I'm certain where it is at this point in time, to be honest with you," Caldwell said. "Nobody knows. There's anything that can happen. It could be an unbelievable turnaround, or it could be lengthy. We'll have to wait and see."

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