Jerod Mayo had a shorter run with the New England Patriots than a lot of fans would've liked. With his retirement this week, the 29-year-old linebacker walks away from the game having played just eight NFL seasons after building expectations as a franchise cornerstone early in his career.
Mayo's time as an impact players was shorter than many had hoped, with each of his final three years cut short by a season-ending injury. But that doesn't take away from the fact that, for his first five years with the Patriots, Mayo was part of a very small defensive core tasked with preventing some patchwork defenses from completely falling apart.