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While Mayo later answered that he is responsible for all decisions, his initial remark could have been viewed as a slight on Van Pelt, the first-year playcaller.

Mayo further addressed his comments in his day-after-game video conference Monday.

“I didn’t mean anything by that,” Mayo said. “It was more of a defensive response. I tried to clarify that with the follow-up question [Sunday], because ultimately all those decisions are mine. … I didn’t want to go down that whole rabbit hole trying to explain all those things.”

Mayo also said in his weekly radio interview on sports radio WEEI that he “shouldn’t have done that. Just like I tell the players, I’m still learning how those things work.”

Mayo has had similar missteps in what has been a rocky initial season with the Patriots, who are 3-11 and sputtering towards the end of the regular season.

Those mistakes, in addition to the team’s shaky play on the field, have contributed to a frustrating season in the first year after owner Robert Kraft fired Bill Belichick following 24 seasons at the helm.

During Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals, CBS cameras showed Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft multiple times, as Jonathan Kraft appeared to be frustrated with the pace of the offense at one point in the second quarter, making a motion with his hand and finger to speed things up.

Entering the season, Robert Kraft had preached patience with Mayo, 38, who is the second-youngest head coach in the NFL behind the Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald. Kraft said one of the top traits he saw in Mayo, who played linebacker for the team from 2008 to 2015 and served as a linebackers coach from 2019 to 2023, is his ability to connect with and manage younger players.

Kraft predicted before the season that they would “probably be in for some rough times” — a reference, in part, to more time needed to stock the roster with talent. At the same time, Kraft projected the season “will be great growth and lay the foundation for the future.”

Kraft hasn’t publicly commented on Mayo since the season began.

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Bridgewater had 6,712 passing yards and 70 touchdowns as a star quarterback at Miami Northwestern before moving on to Louisville, where he earned Big East Rookie of the Year honors and won Sugar Bowl MVP after guiding the Cardinals past Florida as a junior.

He went on to be a 2014 first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings and played for seven NFL teams, most recently the Detroit Lions, before retiring after the 2023 season.

The surgery was a Whipple procedure, Moss said. The operation involves removing the head of the pancreas, part of the small intestine, the gallbladder and the bile duct, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“I didn’t think I would ever be in a position like this, as healthy as I thought I was,” Moss said.

Moss said he will undergo radiation and chemotherapy.

“All the prayers, the well wishes, I really felt that, my family felt that,” Moss said, wearing a gray hoodie with the words “Team Moss.”

Moss stepped away from his role as an analyst on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” on Dec. 6.

“As soon as I get healthy to get back out with guys, I will be on set. … Hopefully, I can be with you guys soon,” Moss said. “My goal is to get back on television with my team.”

Moss asked for donations on his website, saying the money would go primarily toward cancer research.

The 47-year-old Moss was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018 after playing 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (1998-2004, 2010), Oakland Raiders (2005-06), New England Patriots (2007-10), Tennessee Titans (2010) and San Francisco 49ers (2012).

Moss is second in NFL history with 156 touchdown catches and had an NFL-record 23 touchdown receptions in 2007 for the Patriots.