Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo has announced his retirement via Instagram. The post is titled, “Retiring a Patriot.”
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“After a lot of thought, Chantel and I take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for what we consider a life changing event…that of becoming a New England Patriot for the past eight years,” Mayo wrote. “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. As my family and I prepare for the future, be sure that the Pats memories will always hold a special place in our hearts.”
Mayo, who has been with the Patriots since he was selected 10th overall in the 2008 draft, saw his role reduced this season. After starting all but two of his 87 regular season games in the first seven years of his NFL career, Mayo started only eight of 16 games in 2015, appearing in just over 400 defensive snaps. His 47 tackles represented a new career low. In January, Mayo was placed on season-ending IR.
The linebacker, 30 next week, saw injuries derail his last few seasons. He appeared in just 12 of 32 regular-season contests in 2013 and 2014 before staying healthy for most of this year. With Mayo retiring, the Patriots will save $7MM while carrying $4.4MM in dead money.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
You realize that no where in his announcement does he mention retiring, right? Just said thanks to the pats… Am I missing something?
If you went to the instagram post you’d see it says
jerod_mayo51RETIRING A PATRIOT at the top of the message thread.