Jerod Mayo: New England Patriots Should Cut Him?
By Cyrus Geller
I absolutely love Jerod Mayo. He is a top notch linebacker, he might be an even better leader, and everybody on the New England Patriots loves him to death. The only problem is he is in a tricky situation with his salary heading into 2015, and as it sits right now, he is a prime candidate to get cut.
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Mayo is scheduled to make $7.25 million in 2015, but his cap hit is a whopping $10.4 million. That currently puts him only behind Darrelle Revis, and Tom Brady. Of course that is assuming Revis’ $20 million option is picked up, which in all likelihood won’t happen. So if the Patriots work out a decent extension for Revis, that could put Mayo’s cap hit second only to Tom Brady.
That can’t happen.
If Mayo doesn’t restructure, there is a 300% chance he will be released. I’m sure it would hurt Bill Belichick, but there is no way he can keep Mayo (who may be the third best linebacker on this team) on the roster for that kind of money. For comparison, in 2015, Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins‘s cap hit COMBINED will roughly hit $3.5 million. That is nearly three times less than Mayo’s, and after the performance those two had in 2014, giving Mayo that much more money just won’t fly.
Now let me say this: the Patriots will not be a better team if Mayo leaves. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of Hightower and Collins, but the Pats definitely missed Mayo in a few keys games, with the divisional round matchup and Super Bowl topping the list. I’m not saying we absolutely need him back, because we arguably have the best two inside linebackers in the game on our side already, but he would make an already dangerous defense even better.
But in order for that to happen, he needs to take a significant pay cut. It’s going to come down to one thing: does Mayo want to stay in New England, and have a shot at getting another ring? Or does he want the money? Because there is no doubt in my mind he will get paid elsewhere. If the Patriots decide to let him, there will be a multitude of teams that will throw a bunch of cash in his direction.
If this is what Mayo wants, then by all means, Bill Belichick, send him packing. We don’t need someone willing to hurt the team with that salary on this squad. However I hope Mayo decides to stay, because he’s a good dude, and a great football player. Hightower and Collins have elevated their games to ultra-high levels, but the Pats are better with Mayo in the fold.
We’ll see what happens.