Jets' All-Pro Linebacker Tosses Some Dough in Hoboken

C.J. Mosley may have a future as a pizzaiolo after his playing career comes to a close. 

The New York Jets' linebacker went undercover in a local pizza shop, fooling unsuspecting fans and challenging them to “outweigh” him in a 50lb bag contest. 

Starring in an episode of "Undercover Athlete," produced by Whistle, Mosley visits Napoli’s Pizzeria in Hoboken, NJ to take on the task. 

Having once been a Hoboken resident myself, this segment was particularly intriguing as Napoli’s is a neighborhood staple and one of the go-to spots in the one square mile that is flooded with pizza parlors.

The premiere episode of the new original series opens with Mosley entering Napoli’s, being introduced to Jocelyn Volpe, the owner, and wife of late founder Frank Volpe. The 31-year-old linebacker then gets shuffled off to the makeup chair as a subtle disguise is applied. Next, he slaps on a “New Guy” name tag and gets right to work. 

Chef and manager Jaedan Gonzalez welcomes him to the pizza world and shows him, Napoli-style how to make his first pizza by rolling, kneading and tossing.

“Overall, besides rolling the dough and everything, I think I can put pretty good toppings on a pizza, Mosley said. “I think I could easily say I’ve eaten over a thousand slices in my lifetime.”

Mosley then moves from the oven to taking orders from customers. 

Viewers get a glimpse of the grizzled veteran asking patrons who their favorite pro linebacker in the NFL is to which one replied “I don’t know what a linebacker is.” He got a bit luckier with subsequent customers who knew exactly who he was and called him out on it. There were a couple people that Mosley simply out-ed himself to, so thankfully he was only making pizza and not serving as an undercover cop or federal agent.

The sign on the counter reads “Answer for a free slice: Are you Gang Green or G-Men?” One man responded “Giants” and Mosley, without hesitation responds, “No slice.” 

Once realizing they were dealing with Mosley on candid camera, the fans' reactions were priceless.

The following segment included a sandwich board advertisement “Show us your strength for a free pizza” where customers, and even those passing by, could walk in and elect to compete. What they didn’t know, however, is that it would be against the 6’2" physically-fit Mosley who weighs 230 pounds. 

People of all genders and sizes inquired about the challenge and found themselves next to the five-time Pro Bowl selection performing physical lifts of a 50-pound bag of flour. I think Mosley went easy on most of them except for one. A man with a big build walked in and accepted the challenge and it appeared that when you put he and Mosley side by side, he could offer Mosley a run for his money. He was a Giants fan to boot. 

Both men fired up the shoulders and delts by holding the 50lb bags out in front of them with arms extended. It was short time before both men had their arms shaking but they didn’t give in and pushed to the limit. Ultimately, all of the patrons won the free pizza and got to interact with NFL linebacker, even the Giants' fan.

Between the competition and customer service, it was heartwarming to see genuine fan reactions in a town that lies just a few miles from MetLife Stadium. 

Face recognition in the NFL is harder than most other sports since their faces in their primetime moments are many times covered by their helmets. 

“People know me on the field, but they are not used to seeing me outside of sports. I was unsure how noticeable I would be in quite a different setting, said Mosley. “It was a ton of fun to go undercover at one of my local pizza shops in disguise, test and ultimately have some incredible interactions with my fans.”