Hate them or completely despise everything they represent, the New England Patriots are consistently able to move on from players and find a reliable replacement and seem to do it quickly, in a cold-hearted manner that befits the very nature of evil. Jarod Mayo decided this offseason to retire before the Patriots could trade or cut him and now the team must find a replacement.
Such a thing just happened to Chandler Jones, their best defensive lineman by a mile. They traded him to the Arizona Cardinals for a second round draft pick and Jonathan Cooper, then signed oft-injured Chris Long as his replacement.
This brings us back to Mayo, who decided to call it a day after nine seasons, all with the Patriots. Mayo was probably looking at a similar situation as Jones, with $4.4 million due this season. New England probably was going to move him. He didn’t want to be moved, so instead he turned in his fez and his tie tack and headed for the coach.
Jerod Mayo, Middle Linebacker
2015: 47 tackles, one sack, one pass defended
Mayo has been a team-leader and starter since being drafted in the first round out of the University of Tennessee in 2008. H had four seasons with over 100 tackles to begin his career, but injuries slowed him down in 2013 and 2014 and by the time he was full strength last season, he basically had to split time with the guy the Patriots will replace him with this season, Jonathan Freeney.
The Pats added Freeney last season after he spent three years as a back-up for the Miami Dolphins. Splitting time with Mayo, Freeney appeared in 13 games, recorded 50 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and one pass defense. Freeney didn’t set the world on fire, but he’s obviously an NFL talent and a good place-holder for the Patriots as they look at a long-term answer at one of the most important positions on their defense.
By their nature as a perennial contender, the Patriots get a break when it comes to free agency. Players want to play for them and are willing, many times, to sign for a little less in hopes of getting a chance to play for a Super Bowl ring. On the outside it looks like an invitation to a group of low-caliber mercenaries, but in reality the Pats can count on guys in the middle or latter section of their careers to come in and play their hearts out. It’s what they’ll get with Long if he can stay healthy.
For that reason the Patriots should really set their sites on Long’s former teammate and friend James Laurinaitis. Laurinaitis has been the leader of the Rams defense since they drafted him in 2009.
He’s never had fewer than 109 tackles in a season and has never missed a game. The only reason the Pats may look past Laurinaitis is the fact that he’s probably looking for a long-term contract and has plenty of suitors willing to give him one. He might just be too expensive for them.
Because of that the Patriots will likely look to the draft to find their guy and will need to use one of those second-round picks to do it. After the trade with the Cardinals they now pick back-to-back, at Nos. 60 and 61. They also come in with two third round picks at Nos. 91 and 96.
Picking at 60, it’s likely the two best inside linebackers, Reggie Ragland from Alabama and Kentrell Brothers from Missouri will be off the board, but Dominique Alexander out of Oklahoma could still be there.
Alexander is a little small for an inside linebacker at 6-foot-0, 232 pounds, but he makes up for it as a pass defender. And regardless of his size he’s not afraid to get into the pile and mix it up. Last year for the Sooners he had 104 tackles, 7.5 for a loss, one sack, one pick and two pass defenses.
In the third round Temple’s Tyler Matakevich brings a similar skillset to the table, as well as size issues at 6-foot-0, 238 pounds. Matakevich was a tackling machine too, recording 138 in 2015 to go with 15.5 for a loss, 4.5 sacks, five interceptions and five passes defended.
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