Jerod Mayo is in a pretty precarious position as he comes into the 2016 offseason with a cap hit of $11,400,000.
The Patriots will be tied up handing out contract extensions to the key playmakers on defense such as Jamie Collins, Malcolm Butler, and Dont'a Hightower so an extension for Mayo may not be in the cards. Mayo is 29 and has spent his entire NFL career (8 seasons) with the New England Patriots. In that time he has played in 103 of 128 games, recorded 803 combined tackles, 11 sacks, 19 pass defenses, 3 interceptions, and 8 forced fumbles.
Since Mayo is knocking on the door of 30 it is quite possible the Patriots move on from the cover linebacker in an effort to bolster their roster for what could be one of Tom Brady's final seasons in the NFL. Mayo played in all 16 games in 2015 but only started in 8 of them. In 2015 he recorded 47 combined tackles, a sack, and 1 pass defense.
It is possible Mayo takes a pay cut to help the Patriots build this roster up a bit after being ousted in the 2015 NFL Playoffs. If Mayo is released several teams should be interested including the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and Atlanta Falcons.
