" Jerod Mayo was not at practice yesterday, a day after the Patriots star linebacker reportedly was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament.

Coach Bill Belichick did not offer a timetable for his return, but a source close to Mayo said he could be out up to six weeks.

The Patriots are moving on.

Fellow second-year linebacker Gary Guyton will now sport a green dot on his helmet, a sign that he's wearing the helmet radio and taking over defensive play-calling duties for Mayo. Guyton moved from outside to inside linebacker when Mayo was injured in Monday night's season opener vs. the Bills, taking over play-calling duties as much as one can against a no-huddle attack.

"Gary was taking charge," safety James Sanders [stats] said. "He was the one leading us defensively in the huddle."

Meanwhile, the Patriots are having internal discussions about filling the void left by Mayo. The team was pondering signing former Bucs great Derrick Brooks, who took a broadcasting job with ESPN2 yesterday. A source close to Brooks said the linebacker would rather be playing football."