Patriots LB Mayo says he will retire

It would appear that Jerod Mayo would rather not play at all than suit up for a team that wasn’t the New England Patriots.

The Patriots had a tough decision to make this offseason regarding Mayo and his future with the team, but can focus on figuring out a replacement during free agency and ahead of the draft. He suffered another pectoral injury during New England’s AFC divisional round win against Kansas City and was placed on injured reserve for the third straight season.

Like yours, my first thought was concussion – Mayo is only 29 years old. He would go on to collect 803 tackles, 11 sacks, 8 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions in 103 regular season games, as well as 15 tackles and 1 forced fumble in seven postseason contests.

Several of Mayo’s Patriots teammates, among them Julian Edelman and Chandler Jones, took to social media to wish him well and offer their congratulations on a “great career”. Although he was healthy for all 16 games in 2015, Mayo started just eight times, a signal of the change of the guard in the Patriots’ defense.

Mayo won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year during the 2008 season and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2010 and 2012. Mayo sprained the medial collateral ligament in his knee during the Patriots’ 2009 season-opening game against the Buffalo Bills. Mayo’s strong play and veteran leadership anchored another solid year for the Patriots’ defense. New England Patriots fans are saddened to hear this news.

Mayo helped lead New England to two Super Bowls, in 2011 and 2014, and one Super Bowl victory in 2014. He registered 140 tackles in his final season before forgoing his final year of eligibility to enter the National Football League draft.

Mayo starred at Tennessee from 2004-07.