What Does the Future Hold for Jerod Mayo in New England Patriots Defense?

For the past two seasons, New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo has had his season cut short by an injury. In 2015, his season might be limited in a different fashion.

On Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mayo played only nine defensive snaps, according to stats website Pro Football Focus. That's the lowest snap count for any linebacker that actually participated on defense.

Why so limited? 

Player	Snaps
Jamie Collins	72
Dont'a Hightower	64
Jerod Mayo	9

For starters, Mayo is returning from a torn patellar tendon. He's not an old man by any stretch, but at 29 years old, he's no spring chicken either. He has missed a lot of time over the past two seasons between the knee injury that cut his 2014 season short in Week 6 and a torn pectoral muscle that also cut his 2013 season short in Week 6.

In Mayo's absence, young linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins stepped up in big ways to become leaders of the defense. Collins wore the green dot helmet as the communicator with the coaches on the sideline last year, and he continues to do so this year. Hightower was the one who manned the green dot helmet in 2013.

The Patriots coaches have been grooming other players for that role for years, even before Mayo began suffering injury after injury. So clearly, that's not the only reason for Mayo's reduced role in the defense. What else is there?

Mike Reiss of ESPN.com attempted to shed some light on an answer to that question, and he turned the spotlight to the Patriots game plan for the Steelers:

"

The Patriots were in their sub defense for most of the game, matching Pittsburgh's two-tight end package with different variations of their 4-2-5 nickel (one with 3 safeties against the two-TE package, and another with three cornerbacks against the three-WR package). The only times they brought a third linebacker onto the field was when a fullback came into the game, or at the goal line. That was usually Mayo.

"

The safety-centric game plan opened up opportunities for both Duron Harmon (57 snaps) and Patrick Chung (49 snaps) to play more frequently on defense. As a result, the Patriots were inviting the run, so it's no surprise that the Steelers were able to pile up 134 rushing yards and 5.4 yards per carry against the Patriots.

Maybe Mayo will get more playing time against run-heavy teams that rely on the ground game to keep the offense moving. The Patriots defense has always been a game plan-specific defense, changing its strategy, personnel groupings and scheme to fit its opponent. 

That being said, the Patriots have played a ton of sub-package defense over the years, and as a result, their need for three top-notch linebackers has diminished. Collins and Hightower are two good, young linebackers in their own right, so the Patriots might be transitioning to a future without Mayo. 

In April, Mayo and the Patriots ripped up the old contract and signed a new contract for three years and $22 million with $4.5 million in guarantees, but the caveat is that the final two years of the contract are team-option years. That means the Patriots can cut bait with Mayo at no cost to them. 

The Patriots have already been transitioning away from Mayo over the past two years due to his injuries, but that process may be accelerated this year.