The Patriots are on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, and it’d be in their best interest to give younger players as much playing time as possible.
That’s a sentiment Jerod Mayo’s expressed, and with the bye week approaching after New England’s matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, the head coach got specific on who he wants to see more of.
“Not to get too specific — but I will — we need a guy like Layden Robinson to show what he can do. We need a guy like Cole Strange, before the end of the season, to see what he can do,” Mayo told reporters, per a team-provided video. “You can use Caedan (Wallace) in that same bucket. We need to see what the receivers can do and what they look like going forward. And that’s the hard part for me. Look, you want to win right now, but at the same time, I think it’d be a disservice to go to the end of the season and not see what we have.”
Robinson slotted in at left guard at practice Friday as the Patriots seek the best combination in front of Drake Maye. Strange would be a huge benefit for the offensive line. Mayo confirmed the third-year offensive lineman would not play this Sunday but was optimistic he’d play before the season ended.
While Mayo didn’t specify which wide receiver he wanted to see step up. It’s not hard to imagine he had Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker in mind as the rookie wideouts were early disappointments in the first half of the season.
A Week 13 callout and a bye week could be what these players need to provide optimism for the Patriots at the end of the season.
