Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo unexpectedly announced his retirement tonight after eight seasons in New England. Mayo was drafted 10th overall in the 2008 draft out of Tennessee. Bill Belichick shocked pundits with the Mayo pick because up until that point, Belichick refused to draft linebackers in the early round of the draft because he preferred veteran players at the position.

So what kind of a player was Mayo? If I had to categorize him, I would say he was a good player, not a great player. Sure he posted some good numbers between 2008-2012, but the last four seasons were tough due to injuries. A knee injury ended Mayo’s season in 2013 and a torn pectoral muscle ended his season in 2014. Mayo did play in all 16 games this season but you could tell by watching him that he wasn’t the same player. He only played in 36% of the team’s defensive snaps this season. The injuries and his age had finally caught up to him. 

The Patriots will save $8 million dollars with Mayo retiring. That’s money that they can use in free agency this off-season or possibly use it to re-sign one of the key 2017 free agents. Either way, the Patriots were going to part ways with Mayo next month. He saw the writing on the wall so he retired. 

Mayo will be remembered as a good player who will be revered by this generation of Patriots fans. His name won’t be mentioned with the likes of other Patriots defenders from the Belichick era but Mayo was productive and deserves to be recognized in some way for his contributions. 

It’s hard to walk away from something you love when you’re not even 30 years old yet, but Mayo did the right thing. He was no longer the player he used to be and he accepted that. He made a tough decision but it was the right decision. It was time.