On Tuesday, New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo announced his retirement via Instagram. Mayo’s post on Instagram was a 90-word statement with a caption that simply read, “Retiring a Patriot.”
In his statement, the former Volunteer thanked the Kraft family, his head coach Bill Belichick, as well as someone named Thundercat and the fans.
“We are extremely grateful to Thundercat, Jonathan, the Kraft family, coach Belichick, the Pats organization, and the most amazing fans in contributing to these pages of our lives,” Mayo wrote in his statement.
Mayo was the 10th overall pick out of the University of Tennessee in the 2008 NFL Draft. And even at the relatively young age of 29, Mayo has dealt with injuries for the past three seasons that forced him to miss games. He’s missed six games in each of the past two seasons which included this seasons AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos with a shoulder injury.
The Patriots star linebacker had just as much impact in the locker room as he did on the football field. His leadership and his knowledge of the game has had an impact on two particular young players for the Patriots in Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower.
“It’s more learning how to be a professional,” Collins said on Mayo’s influence this past September. “That’s the main thing I had to learn coming here from college — learn how to be a professional. And Jerod is that guy who has helped me.”
“I grew up watching Jerod in college,” Hightower said before the AFC Championship. “Just coming here and just sitting down and talking to him after being drafted and stuff, that meant a lot to me. I thought I was a smart football player, but I mean, that dude could be a defensive coordinator right now. Just literally learning so much from him has just really meant a lot for me and my career.”
In Mayo’s eight-year career with the Patriots, he recorded 803 tackles with 11 sacks and three interceptions. He also led the Patriots in tackles from his rookie year in 2008 to 2012, and his 175 tackles in 2010 led the NFL. With the retirement of Jerod Mayo, it should save the Patriots roughly $7 million in cap space for the upcoming season.
In other Patriots news on Tuesday, ESPN reported that the Pats have agreed on a deal that would bring back former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia who coached the Patriots offensive line from 2000 to his retirement in 2013. New England than hired Dave DeGuglielmo as his replacement to a two-year deal, but decided not to bring him back after his contract expired this season. The decision had a lot to do with the fact Tom Brady was sacked 38 times this past season, including getting hit a season-high 20 times (including four sacks) against the Broncos in the AFC Championship game.
New England Patriots outside linebacker Jerod Mayo (51) warms up on the field before an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Oct.13, 2013, in Foxborough, Mass. The Patriots beat the Saints 30-27. (Getty Images/Steven Senne)
