Jerod Mayo walks back notable quote about Patriots’ free agency plans

Aug 29, 2019; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo watches the action during the second half against the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo appears to have spoken too soon when it comes to hyping up the team’s free agency plans.

Shortly after he was named the Patriots’ new coach, Mayo enthusiastically said the team is ready to “burn some cash” in free agency. Just over a month later, however, Mayo has significantly moderated his tone.

“I kind of misspoke when I said ‘burn some cash’ but I was excited when you see those numbers,” Mayo told Karen Guregian of MassLive. “When you reflect on those numbers … you don’t have to spend all of it in one year.”

The Patriots have the second-highest effective cap space number in the NFL at over $69 million, hence Mayo’s initial enthusiasm. Nobody was suggesting that Mayo was ready to throw away money, but his clarification might lower expectations about how aggressive the team will be once free agency opens.

Mayo has been doing a lot of clarifying lately. The Patriots’ new braintrust is still working on the messaging side of things, it would seem.