Jerod Mayo Makes an Example of a Practice Squadder, Demonstrating That Social Media Insubordination Will Not Be Tolerated on His Watch

In a time of great uncertainty in New England, there was one thing we all assumed we could be sure of. That the first coaching change of the 21st century (not to be that guy, but 2000 was the last year of the 20th century) was going to place a more relaxed, player-friendly man in charge. That Jerod Mayo was going to be more tolerant, patient, and let players be themselves. To treat them in a way he would've responded positively to when he was in the middle of the Patriots defense. In short, he was going to be the Cool Mom:

Though a stronger, tougher version. One who's still capable of snapping your neck with his bare hands some 16 years after he was drafted. 

But so far, we're getting a different Mayo that we expected. One with an extremely limited tolerance for nonsense, shenanigans, or even tomfoolery of any kind. When Matthew Judon made a huge display of civil disobedience at the start of training camp, he was sent off the field and then shipped to Atlanta. When Javon Baker posted a video his own traffic stop, he didn't dress for the first game. Then this week, Jalen Reagor challenged his authoritay:

… with an Instagram post protesting the fact he's spent the first two weeks languishing on the practice squad, he was gone in less than 24 hours:

There is just so much to unpack here. I guess beginning with the fact Reagor sees himself as … what? A high performance luxury sports car? And the Patriots are a brokeass, run down double-wide in some jerkwater trailer park? On one level, I guess you can sort of admire the self-confidence. On the other hand, you have to appreciate the self-own here. 

Whatever Reagor's self image is, he's a former 1st rounder who's been let go by the team that drafted him and the team that picked him up in just four seasons. In a league that has based its entire marketing appeal on physically gifted receivers catching passes, Reagor's career catch rate is 53.7%. And last season it fell to 30.4%, which he should be able to achieve accidentally. 

Worse still, he hasn't been able to secure a roster spot in New England despite the fact their wide receiver corps hasn't just been irrelevant so far, they've been historically unproductive:

To use Reagor's own metaphor, it's not like Mayo has a lot of Lamborghinis and Ferraris in his driveway, judging by the first two games. And still Reagor can't find a space to park in. Which would seem to be a Reagor problem, not a Patriots problem. And releasing him just made that official. 

Reports say the snarky, disgruntled post had nothing to do with the decision to cut him. But reports are always going to say that. The much more likely scenario is that Mayo and his staff saw the perfect opportunity to make an example of a highly expendable guy, and did not pass up the chance. Crushing dissent and banishing anyone who dares speak up about how dissatisfied he is comes right out of the coaching playbook of Mayo's predecessor. And in the long run, it'll be a pure positive that he learned from the best.