Reports: Patriots trying out replacements for Mayo

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

According to Field Yates (tweet below), the Patriots tried out 5 linebackers today: Justin Anderson,Kaelin Burnett, Tim Dobbins, Mario Harvey, and Paul Hazel. With Jerrod Mayo out for the year according to Adam Schefter, the Patriots will need someone to fill to fill the void left by Mayo for the rest of the year.

The Patriots worked out 5 linebackers today, per source: Justin Anderson, Kaelin Burnett, Tim Dobbins, Mario Harvey, and Paul Hazel.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 13, 2014

Patriots LB Jerod Mayo is out for the year after suffering a lower right leg injury that multiple sources say “is bad”.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 13, 2014

It will take more than one guy to replace Mayo, or so Bill Belichick says, but one of these guys could hold the answer, at least in part. Jerrod Mayo leaves a big void to fill as a leader and a player and it will be hard to replace him. None of the guys the Patriots are looking at right now have a lot of experience (1 undrafted rookie, and only 1 guy out of the 5 has played in 2014). Tim Dobbins has the most experience at the NFL level, 7 years with 3 teams, but his numbers are nowhere near Mayo's - 253 career tackles, 3 interceptions and 2 sacks, while Mayo has triple the amount of tackles (756), 10 sacks and 3 interceptions in 6 1/2 years. That doesn't exactly instill a whole lot of confidence in me, but if Dobbins, or any of the other 4 players, should come in and play well, then all the better.

Thoughts? Let me know on Twitter (@C_Frederick1016) or leave a comment.