One day later, Pats fans should be able to breathe easy as Jerod Mayo appears to be A-OK.
On Tuesday afternoon, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was optimistic in regards to his second-year linebacker's injury.
"I don’t think that’s what it is," Belichick said during a conference call when asked if the injury was season-ending. "Tomorrow when we have the practice report, I’m going to provide you with details on that."
The reigning defensive rookie of the year and this year's defensive captain left Monday night's season-opening win over the Bills in the first quarter. Mayo went down while squaring off with a blocker and his return was listed as "questionable," although he didn't make another appearance in the last-minute victory.
"This time of year, things happen, and you try to address them on an as-needed basis," director of player personnel Nick Caserio said. "We’ll evaluate the alternatives internally and externally. If we feel like there is an opportunity to add a player who’ll help the club, we’ll [do it]."
However, there is a conflicting report coming from the Globe's Chris Gasper who is reporting that Mayo will be out six to eight weeks with an MCL sprain:
"According to two sources with direct knowledge of Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo's injury, Mayo sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills.
One source said that Mayo was expected to be out 6 to 8 weeks with the Grade 3 MCL sprain, but the other source said that the timetable is "not that bad" and Mayo is expected to be back quicker than that."
