Patriots’ Jerod Mayo Offers Initial Thoughts On Waiver Wire Adds
Jerod Mayo and the New England Patriots believe they improved their roster with the addition of four players on the waiver wire.
"I think it's very clear we have to improve as a whole," Mayo told reporters at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, per a team-provided video. "We have to improve up front. And we felt like we did that with claiming those players."
Among the four additions were offensive tackles Demontrey Jacobs (Denver Broncos) and Zachary Thomas (Los Angeles Rams). New England also claimed linebacker Curtis Jacobs (Kansas City Chiefs) and defensive tackle Eric Johnson (Indianapolis Colts).
"We'll see. We'll see," Mayo responded when asked what he thought those players would bring. "You watch some of the film, you watch all of these guys, and we were in a very unique situation being third on the waiver wire. We felt like we improved our team offensively, defensively and special teams.
"You get a linebacker that can fly down the field like that, or you get some offensive linemen that can possibly develop into good players, I mean, we have to take swings at these players," Mayo continued. "And hopefully when they get here they'll fall in line and contribute to our team this year and in the future."
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Mayo said the Patriots were still working through their starting combination along the offensive line. The first-year head coach indicated Vederian Lowe, who started at left tackle during the majority of training camp, and guard Sidy Sow, who left New England's preseason finale with an injury, are dealing with their own ailments. Mayo, however, had an optimistic update on Sow.
"We just have to make sure we have our roster complete before we even make that decision," Mayo said about the offensive line.
The Patriots have to release four players to make room for their four waiver wire adds. New England reportedly started doing so by releasing wide receiver Jalen Reagor and cornerback Isaiah Bolden, according to the Boston Herald's Doug Kyed.
You can read more about New England's waiver wire additions here.