After eight seasons, Jerod Mayo's NFL and New England Patriots career is over. The talented linebacker and former first-round pick announced his retirement on Tuesday night via an Instragam post titled, "RETIRING A PATRIOT."
Mayo's career got off to a bang as he was voted the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2008. He would go on to collect 803 tackles, 11 sacks, 8 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions in 103 regular season games, as well as 15 tackles and 1 forced fumble in seven postseason contests. Unfortunately, as talented as Mayo is, he always struggled to stay on the field. Albert Breer of NFL Network summed up Mayo's recent injury troubles well...
If this is it for Mayo as a player, understandable ... 2013: Torn pec, IR 2014: Torn patellar tendon, IR 2015: Torn pec, IR — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 16, 2016
With Mayo off the books, that clears up about $7 million in cap space, but also creates $4.4 million in dead money for cash-strapped New England.
Elsewhere around the NFL, the Detroit Lions cut ties with running back Joique Bell and the Chicago Bears jettisoned offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod.
Bell, a onetime undrafted free agent, fell out of favor in Detroit this past season after providing a powerful thunder to Reggie Bush's lightning in 2014 thanks to the development of Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick and Zach Zenner. The move saves the Lions $2.5 million in cap space.
As for Bushrod, he was a major free agent signing for the team only three seasons ago, but injuries robbed him of much of the 2015 season. With Bushrod gone, the Bears have cleared about $4.4 million off their 2016 cap.
