Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo is making his way back from surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle and he said Tuesday that there are still several steps he needs to take before he’ll feel totally comfortable returning to the field.
Mayo said that he’d feel sure about his ability to play “if it was flag football,” but said that he’ll need to pass each set of milestones in the offseason from OTAs to training camp before he’d feel 100 percent about his return.
“I don’t know how it’ll feel when we start going out there doing different things as far as a little bit of contact drills,” Mayo said, via CSN New England. “Even though there’s no pads, you can fall a certain way so I’m just gonna take it one day at a time and see how it goes.”
The Patriots got good work from both Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower while Mayol was out of the lineup last year, which will leave them with a strong linebacking corps once Mayo is back to feeling like himself. If Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly can also make full returns from their injuries, things will set up well for the New England defense.