Jerod Mayo came to his Wednesday morning press conference with a somber tone and in an opening statement, announced that the Patriots will be placing captain and linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley on injured reserve.
“We lost one of our captains in Bentley. He’s done a great job for us both on and off the field. A leader in the locker room, all that stuff. We’ll be putting Bentley on injured reserve later on today.”
It was originally reported early last week that the team was “optimistic” about Bentley’s injury and that it “does not appear to be serious. It was later clarified by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, however, that Bentley suffered a torn pectoral muscle in their Week 2 loss to the Seahawks. While Rapoport added that he’s out for the season, Jerod Mayo wouldn’t go that far on Wednesday:
“I’m not sure. We’ll see how it goes,” the head coach said when asked if Bentley will return to the field this season. “I don’t wanna speculate on when he’s gonna, when he could return, or can return. I don’t get into that.”
In light of the injury, Mayo also announced that the Patriots are naming Kyle Dugger a team captain in Bentley’s place.
“Happy to announce today, a guy that has done a tremendous job for us, has really shown a lot of growth on the field and off the field, and that’s Kyle Dugger. Dugger is now a captain for us.”
The #Patriots are naming S Kyle Dugger a team captain after placing LB Ja'Whaun Bentley on IR.
(📸: @Patriots) pic.twitter.com/jrTFDnCPLb
— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) September 25, 2024
The head coach explained that the final tally was “very close” when the players voted on captains and that Dugger was next up. He added that he spoke with Bentley prior to appointing the safety in his place.
“I thought it was important,” Mayo explained. “And just go back and kinda talk about my experience, as you guys know there were a few seasons there where I was hurt at the end, more than one. I was a captain seven out of eight years and I remember getting hurt early in the season and Coach [Belichick] approached me and said, ‘Hey would you mind if we had another captain,’ and I didn’t.”
He continued: “So I had a conversation with Bentley, and the same thing with him obviously not in the building every single day right now as he goes through the rehab process, but I did ask him [and]I said, ‘To me it’s important for me to still have leadership and representation for that side of the ball.'”
Through three games, Dugger is tied for the Patriots lead in tackles (18) and tackles for loss (3). He’s also tallied one sack and one pass deflection.
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