What's Next for New England Patriots After Injury to Jerod Mayo?

Jerod Mayo will be hoping for a Week 6 bye in 2015. After suffering a torn pectoral in Week 6 of the 2013 season, he suffered what looks to be a serious knee injury during New England's 37-22 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Mayo was seen leaving with crutches and a sleeve on his knee, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald.

Mayo's loss was a shock to the system for New England, but it was able to come together and finish its job.

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LaFell says players were pretty glum at halftime. Rallied together and decided to “do it for Mayo”

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) October 12, 2014

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When asked about what Mayo means to the team—not just the defense—Tom Brady tried to stay positive:

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Absolutely, I mean guys like that Jerod (Mayo), we lost Vince (Wilfork) last year and you know we lost a lot of really key important players. We've just got to keep fighting on and there is a lot of football to play and guys have played great football for us and they give everything they can to our team and it's tough to lose them.

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Mayo's play has been nothing short of phenomenal over the course of the first five games. He leads the team in snaps, stops and tackles, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Some of the plays that he makes haven't shown up in the stat sheet. The play shown below is a perfect example.

Mayo times up his blitz perfectly and bursts through the "A-gap" with a full head of steam. He keeps his pad level down and blows up a pulling lineman, forcing the Bills running back to make a cut five yards before he wanted to. Rob Ninkovich couldn't finish off the tackle for loss, but those are the chances that Mayo's timing and instincts create.

Mayo traditionally wears the green dot on his helmet, signifying his role as the conduit between the players on the field and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. One of his possible replacements—Jamie Collins—filled in with that role this Sunday.

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Belichick said Collins has handled signal calls in practice.

— Doug Kyed (@DougKyedNESN) October 12, 2014
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Collins is the likely choice to fill in for Mayo's defensive role in the short term. He has experience in the defense, and the Patriots play again this Thursday night. Collins has the ability to make big plays in coverage and as a tackler. He showed off the former against the Bills, grabbing his first career regular-season interception.

Collins read Kyle Orton's eyes and showed off his trademark change-of-direction skills to make an easy meal of Orton's pass.

While Collins and fellow starter Dont'a Hightower are on the mend, the Patriots defense will need some additional depth at the position. Chris White and Ja'Gared Davis are primarily special teams players, while Deontae Skinner is limited to more of a two-down role due to his lack of speed.

There isn't a lot of free-agent help out there. Mike Loyko of NEPatriotsDraft.com mentioned a few recent workouts with New England, but neither would be much of an upgrade of what is currently on the roster.

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Lawrence Sidbury and Jamaal Westerman are two LB worked out recently by Patriots. Not a Mayo like type LB.

— Mike Loyko (@NEPD_Loyko) October 12, 2014

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If the knee injury is serious enough to warrant an injured-reserve designation, it isn't out of the question that Mayo may have played his final snaps in New England.

According to OverTheCap.com, Mayo is scheduled to count $10.6 million against the cap in 2015. If he is recovering from a knee injury at nearly 30 years of age, you have to wonder if Bill Belichick starts doing the math.

Trading Mayo or cutting him before June 1 would free up $4.6 million and result in $6 million of dead money against the 2015 cap. Cutting Mayo after June 1 would result in $2.4 million in dead money being shifted to 2016. 

If the Patriots choose to go that route, Benardrick McKinney (LB, Mississippi State) is going to look awfully attractive in the 2015 NFL draft. While he plays outside in college, he projects as a three-down middle linebacker at the next level.

While Mayo seems irreplaceable right now, Logan Mankins, Richard Seymour and Lawyer Milloy all had a similar air about them. If I were Mayo, I wouldn't invest in any Boston-area real estate right this second.