How about trading Mayo to LB-starved 49ers

varjao said:

There is absolutely no way to get a 1st round pick for Jerod Mayo right now.

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I'm not really proposing it. I believe he has more value to the Pats than a 2nd round pick would suggest.

The OP suggested the Niners were LB-starved and desperate, and looking to deal. If the hypothetical is true, and Jerod Mayo has legitimate value here (which he absolutely does), then a second round pick does little for the Pats to address a substantial loss. It's like a lottery ticket in exchange for (1) a higher draft pick product (pick 10) that 2) does not directly and immediately address the tangible and intangible losses of a team leader and solid performer with injuries that are not necessarily career killers. If he was a major cap hit and would be released (which he is not at this point), that goes back to my unloading concern.

In the end, especially after the loss of Wilfork, I believe Mayo is a huge asset. Barring a clear windfall for the Pats that anyone could acknowledge as such, it would appear to be a one-sided (to the Niners benefit) deal.

DP937 said:

If Kiko Alonso can get traded for McCoy and he is banged up. It could happen. What do you consider good compensation? Picking up the 46th pick would be great, heck throw in a 5th or 6th rounder while you at it.

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BB will listen to a realistic offer. So yes it is possible (see never trade Miloy, Mankins, Seymour etc.)
Seymour was in the same boat. In fact he was healthy and about Mayo's age. I don't know if they have players that work. Maybe a swap and slide of picks from Round two or Round three plus a later pick?
It is a CAP win for us. Did not want to see VW go either.
DW Toys

I think there is a huge gulf between what some Patriot fans see as Mayo's value to the team and Belichick's view of Mayo's value to the team. Belichick is on record as saying that Mayo is a critical piece on this team, "the guy the team revolves around," and compared him to Teddy Bruschi and essentially said he is the Bruschi of this team. That's the highest praise you can get and it's obvious Belichick considers Mayo as essential to this team, whereas some Patriot fans see him as just another guy who can be readily disposed of.

As much as I hate losing Revis I think there is plenty of reason to be excited about next seasons defense with the addition of Sheard and the return of Easely and Mayo.

DP937 said:

I think this would be good way to free up cap space, and get a second round pick in return. There LB core is depleted. Mayo is still a good player but replaceable in New England. He still has some value as a pro bowl LB. Injury concerns but he could help them. What do you guys think?

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Just like the Patriots can't restructure Mayo's contract until he can pass a physical, Mayo can't be traded until he can pass a physical.

BTW, to say that Mayo is replaceable after the Patriots let Wilfork walk shows a lack of understanding on your part in how things are intertwined.. Fact is that the Pats defense took a step backwards after Mayo went down. Both in the Run Defense and Pass Defense. In fact, most of the 20+ yard receptions took place after Mayo went down.. Why? Because we were having to rely on Collins to make the calls. And while he was decent, he wasn't nearly as good as Mayo at making the pre-snap adjustments..

Unless the trade value is ridiculously in our favor......no way in hell, cause I still love me some Mayo. Just a restructure once healthy again is all that's needed.

Mayo, Collins and Hightower are gonna represent the best LB group in the NFL with infinite versatility. Sheard may play some there but I see him making a living with his hand in the dirt.

glm said:

People are so quick to get rid of mayo. It's sad really.

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Especially considering how there is no more concern about cap room anymore... why trade one of the best middle linebackers in the league who's a veteran and QB of the defense when you have plenty of cap space to keep him for the remainder of his contract. He's 29 years old, so he can easily play at a high level to the end of his deal, assuming he doesnt get injured again

BobDigital said:

Yes i would. I know how good Mayo can be. And he is more of a play facilitator than play maker (but that job is important too). This is not about how good Mayo is or is not. This is about what is in the best interest for the team plain and simple.

I would be willing to trade Hightower too if the price is right (though that would need to be more cause he is younger and cheaper but he won't be healthy till just about week 1). The only LB we have I really don't want to trade is Collins cause his skill set is so unique.

The way I see it is we have more talent than is needed at LB and if we can somehow transfer that to a position of need then why wouldn't we?

You mention the trio of Mayo/Collins/Hightower but it is not going to be on the field often.

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Trade Hightower? There is no way id do that. We have a lot of talent at linebacker, but if we traded everyone away like you're suggesting then we'd be super thin at LB with no depth.. and have to resort back to signing the Monty biesels and Chad browns of the world..

And if Collins got injured, we'd have the worst linebacking core in the NFL.

having "too many" great linebackers on your roster is a pretty amazing problem to have. I wouldn't get rid of mayo for anything other than a 1st.. he's played at a pro bowl level his entire career.. he's just had bad luck with a serious injury the last 2, but he's been solid and reliable for a long time and I wouldn't want to see him go anywhere unless we were getting some serious compensation in return

And I wouldn't get rid of Hightower period... what are you going to trade him for, a 1st rounder? He's a first round talent and proven commodity... his value is greater than a 1st rounder.. he's young and has rare size/speed combo, knows our defense and wears the green dot. You could spend 3 first round picks trying to draft aother Hightower and not find one..

Snake Eyes said:

Why's that? We've been able to get it done without him, he's always injured, and he's eating up a lot of cap space.

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Getting by without him isn't a reason imo.. because with him we would just be that much better

He isn't "always" getting injured, he's been consistent and reliable his entire career.. he had a freak knee injury last year early on that could literally happen to any player on any play.

He's taking up a lot of cap space because he's one of the best players on the roster.. and we don't have any cap problems that would be reason to get rid of him. . We have plenty of cap space and could simply restructure him to free up a bit more if it was needed, but right now Pats are like 9 million over and all the big priced free agents are gone

JarOfMayo51 said:

Especially considering how there is no more concern about cap room anymore... why trade one of the best middle linebackers in the league who's a veteran and QB of the defense when you have plenty of cap space to keep him for the remainder of his contract. He's 29 years old, so he can easily play at a high level to the end of his deal, assuming he doesnt get injured again

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I agree with you but the fact that he hasn't been healthy these last two seasons makes his cap # and salary a little tough to swallow.

Hopefully they can convert the salary to LTBE or bonus and lower the number to a reasonable level.

Mayo is the better run defender. Collins and Hightower just crashes into blocks trying to get them off balance. If the blocker stands his ground Collins and Hightower get owned. Mayo knows how to shed his blocks. Hightower and Collins need to work on that.

chasa said:

mayo has been too snake bitten this last couple of years.

best case scenerio trade for a twice injured 30 year old line backer with a 10 million dollar cap number is a 5th round pick.

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Anything less than a 1st rounder would be a mistake.. and no one would pay that so it makes sense to keep him and maintain a very, very strong, talented and versatile linebacking core to help our front 7, which will be important to compensate for a weaker secondary.

People are forgetting that having all of these talented linebackers allows the coaching staff to do some different things. . Mayo, hightower and Collins can all rush the passer, but with injuries in the past we haven't been able to send them at the QB as much.. Hightower could really cause some havoc from the OLB/DE position.. and with a healthy mayo in the middle, it will allow them to create some exotic looks and blitz packages

They're all so versatile and experienced, opposing QBs won't have any idea who's coming and who's dropping into coverage, regardless of where they line up. . That's the kind of stuff they were doing in the early 2000's.. but you can only dare pull it off if you have a deep and intelligent group of backers

BobDigital said:

I don't prioritize having depth over having quality starters.

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That completely goes against Belichick's entire philosophical approach to building a team.


As for your facilitator comment, that's even more reason to keep him because with him in the middle as a solid veteran rock, it will allow hightower to rush the passer off the edge more like he was doing with a lot of success early last year when mayo was healthy.. when Mayo went down, hightower had to move inside and take on that "facilitator" role, so the defense as a whole became less versatile because of the loss of Mayo.

Belichick will have no problem finding ways to get those 3 linebackers on the field at the same time.. they're all extremely talented, and that can only help the defense

So PATS could have one of the best if not the best LB core in the league, clearly a defensive strength of the PATS, and someone wants to break it up? Great idea.

I would like them to rework his contract and even if he dose not want to what are the pats going to use the money on ?

and other teams will look at him the same way some of the fans do he is getting up there in age cap hit a lil high and a injury history the pats wont get more then a 6th round pick, with Mayo at MLB the pats are a much better run defense plus Collins and Hightower will be more free on the outside to rush the passer

BobDigital said:

The Patriots usually use 2 LBs and have 3 as well as Nink/Shread which can fill in if need be.

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OK, a lightbulb just went off for me. I've been puzzling over how anybody could think we have "too much talent" at linebacker and can easily spare one, when I see precisely 3 linebackers on the roster who I have any confidence in. Now I get it: you see Ninkovich and Sheard as options at linebacker. I don't. IMO Nink has evolved into a clear DE, and Sheard even more so. (You do NOT want Sheard playing in space.)

JarOfMayo51 said:

Trade Hightower? There is no way id do that. We have a lot of talent at linebacker, but if we traded everyone away like you're suggesting then we'd be super thin at LB with no depth.. and have to resort back to signing the Monty biesels and Chad browns of the world..

And if Collins got injured, we'd have the worst linebacking core in the NFL.

having "too many" great linebackers on your roster is a pretty amazing problem to have. I wouldn't get rid of mayo for anything other than a 1st.. he's played at a pro bowl level his entire career.. he's just had bad luck with a serious injury the last 2, but he's been solid and reliable for a long time and I wouldn't want to see him go anywhere unless we were getting some serious compensation in return

And I wouldn't get rid of Hightower period... what are you going to trade him for, a 1st rounder? He's a first round talent and proven commodity... his value is greater than a 1st rounder.. he's young and has rare size/speed combo, knows our defense and wears the green dot. You could spend 3 first round picks trying to draft aother Hightower and not find one..

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Well like I said it would depend on the deal. I would need to think about what I would trade Hightower for. I am sure I would do it for 3 first rounders though.

Having too many players is not a problem. Never said it was. I just want to have great players at all positions. If possible to reallocate talent from one position to another which has more need I think it is definitely worth exploring. In the cases of trading one of our LBs it depends on what is offered.

I have heard a lot of "what if someone gets injured". I think it is not a good argument in this case.

If I can trade Mayo for Keenan Lewis lets say I'd probably do it or at least strongly consider it.

You can throw our the "what if a LB gets injured card". I am not saying that wouldn't be an issue. It would be. I just do not worry about my backup LB situation when I have a chance to fix starting CB.

JarOfMayo51 said:

That completely goes against Belichick's entire philosophical approach to building a team.


As for your facilitator comment, that's even more reason to keep him because with him in the middle as a solid veteran rock, it will allow hightower to rush the passer off the edge more like he was doing with a lot of success early last year when mayo was healthy.. when Mayo went down, hightower had to move inside and take on that "facilitator" role, so the defense as a whole became less versatile because of the loss of Mayo.

Belichick will have no problem finding ways to get those 3 linebackers on the field at the same time.. they're all extremely talented, and that can only help the defense

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I don't think it does. I think Bill would be happy down grading his 3rd LB to get a big upgrade at CB. Bill's philosophical approach is doing what is best for the team.

I think improving a weak spot by taking a playing from a spot of strength could be considered what is best for the team if it was possible to make a good value trade.

I think Belichick would find a problem getting 3 LBs on the field when they do 3-4 WR sets. I would rather having Arrington in for that slot WR instead of Hightower. I think BB would too. And that will happen often.

patchick said:

OK, a lightbulb just went off for me. I've been puzzling over how anybody could think we have "too much talent" at linebacker and can easily spare one, when I see precisely 3 linebackers on the roster who I have any confidence in. Now I get it: you see Ninkovich and Sheard as options at linebacker. I don't. IMO Nink has evolved into a clear DE, and Sheard even more so. (You do NOT want Sheard playing in space.)

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I don't know where people are getting the "too much talent at LB" or that I think it is some kind of problem we must resolve. I really don't look at it that way. It is great we have this amount of talent.

However when I look at the team and ask what is the better D.

Base -DL - Nink Easley Siliga Jones LB - Collins Mayo Hightower DB - Butler Chung McCourty Arrington
Nickel - DL - Shread Easley Siliga Jones LB - Collins Mayo DB - Butler Chung McCourty Fletcher Arrington

or

Base - DL - Shread Easley Siliga Jones LB - Collins Mayo Nink DB - #1 CB Chung McCouty Butler
Nickel - DL - Shread Easley Siliga Jones LB - Collins Mayo DB - #1 CB Chung McCourty Butler Arrington

Give me the 2nd option. I think that is the better defense. We can agree to disagree

Now if we can not get a player that make it worth doing then don't do it. I am not saying give away a good player for a lesser player. I am saying if a fair trade is possible I would do it.

People forget that Mayo had a MCL injury in both 2009 and 2011 before the pectoral and patella injury.

He's played 12 games out of 37 games the past two seasons and he will be 30 years old next February.

On top of this, he has around a 10 Million cap hit this year and next year.

If this player's name was "XYZ" instead of Mayo, what would you give in terms of draft picks for this player?

I'd give...nothing. I don't care if XYZ turned out to be **** Butkus, if he can't stay on the field he is of no use to the team.

There is little to no trade value to Mayo right now and both the Patriots and Mayo know that.

If I was the Patriots, I would give him one of two choices (assuming he is given the ok to play)....significant reduction in compensation or release/trade.
And if comes back healthy, I would trade him next year when he might have some value.
Also, this year I would draft his replacement.

Fans have what I call...."previ-vision". They see players as they were and not what they currently are in regards to their value. Thank goodness Kraft looks forward and not back.

patchick said:

OK, a lightbulb just went off for me. I've been puzzling over how anybody could think we have "too much talent" at linebacker and can easily spare one, when I see precisely 3 linebackers on the roster who I have any confidence in. Now I get it: you see Ninkovich and Sheard as options at linebacker. I don't. IMO Nink has evolved into a clear DE, and Sheard even more so. (You do NOT want Sheard playing in space.)

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The other side of the coin is instead of 'do we need 3 LBs when we only play 2 75% of the time' is how much better can we be with 3 stud LBs.
I would not be surprised to see a lot of 3-3-5 nickle next year, with one of the LBs being the 4th rusher and coming from anywhere.