Junior Seau to Pats: Call Me in December

Junior Seau might soon be taking a page out of Roger Clemens' playbook.

Clemens opted to come out of retirement midway through the 2006 baseball season to sign with Houston, then sat out the early portions of 2007 before joining the Yankees. Seau -- who signed with the Patriots four days after announcing his retirement from San Diego following the 2006 season --thinks he can contribute to New England's Super Bowl aspirations again this season. He just doesn't want to help them out quite yet.

"I have my phone open in November and December for the Pats if they need help," Seau said Thursday on Sirius NFL Radio. "That's about it. I'm not waiting for the call.

"I'm just letting them know that. They understand that if they need any help going further into the postseason or in the midst of December, which is a crucial time. ... I'll be able to look at it and we'll assess that as that happens."

Seau added, "This body can give you six games, but that's about it."

The Patriots might wait to give Seau a buzz later in the season, but they probably could use him immediately. Inside linebacker Jerod Mayo sprained his MCL in Monday's win over Buffalo and could miss several weeks. Without him, New England will have to do some patchwork on defense -- either sliding Gary Guyton permanently to Mayo's spot, though he struggled there against the Bills, or opting to utilize its 4-3 defense more frequently, as opposed to the more linebacker-heavy 3-4. Adelius Thomas might be an option to move inside, as well.

No matter the answer, though, the Patriots are weaker without Mayo. And they could be stronger with Seau -- they'll just have to wait on that boost for a bit.