Patriots LB Mayo was held out of practice by injured knee

Last year’s NFL defensive rookie of the year Jerod Mayo has missed the New England Patriots’ first practice since he hurt his right knee in a 25-24 win over the Buffalo Bills, and the sprained medial collateral ligament could keep him out up to eight weeks.

Mayo did not take part in the Patriots workout on Wednesday, two days after he was injured. And his agent Sean Kiernan did not return an e-mail seeking comment. As for the team, they only said that the inside linebacker did not practice.

Mayo was hurt with just over four minutes left in the first quarter. Soon after he walked along the sideline under his own power but did not return to the game.