Jerod Mayo takes the field as a rookie.
From this Instagram post it looks like Jerod Mayo is retiring, a move not entirely unexpected. At the very least the Patriots weren’t picking up his option and now this now clears almost $7 million dollars from the Pats’ cap number.
First, a quick look back at Mayo’s career. He was taken 10th overall in the 2008 draft and immediately stepped into a starter’s role in an aging defense that was about to be completely turned over. Mayo was the constant during that turnover and missed just five games in his first five years.
There wasn’t a lot of talent around Mayo from 2008-2011 and with his excellent speed he wracked up 341 tackles in those four years. By all accounts he was a consummate Patriot, and despite the injuries of the last few years, was still always around the team, being a leader and helping in any way he could.
Still, I think there was always something missing with Mayo and that was his big play ability. He just never got over the hump to be a player who made critical plays in critical moments. For his career in the regular season he had just three interceptions, eight forced fumbles and 11 sacks. In eight career playoff games he had just one forced fumble. No interceptions. No sacks.
I remember a lengthy pre-game chat between me and Erik Frenz discussing how Mayo was a “tackling machine” but he just wasn’t the impact player you really wanted him to be.
Of course you can’t always judge a player by their stats, but there’s some truth in there. Still, Mayo did a ton for the Patriots and I shudder to think to what depths the defense of 2008-2011 would’ve sunk to without Jerod Mayo making the calls and cleaning up the trash.
Best wishes to Mayo and his family as he turns to the next chapter, whatever that may be.
For the Patriots, they get some much-needed cap relief and can start to formulate a plan on who’s getting paid next. Mayo’s departure certainly reinforces the need for a middle linebacker, but it will be interesting to see what kind of linebacker the Pats’ target. Collins and Hightower are seemingly best used on the outside, along the line of scrimmage in the regular package, with Collins sliding off the line in sub-packages.
The Pats need a dedicated run-stopper in the middle, but also someone with the kind of range to drop into the flat. This doesn’t have to be a three-down linebacker, but he does need to be better than Jonathan Freeny was in 2015.