Tyrone McKenzie's rookie season is over before it began.
The linebacker, taken with the second of the Patriots' two third-round picks in last month's draft (No. 97 overall), is out for the season after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while participating in the Patriots' rookie minicamp last weekend, according to a source close to McKenzie.
McKenzie was injured during the first of two practices Saturday. During a one-on-one coverage drill, McKenzie's feet got tangled up with those of a running back and both went to the ground. McKenzie immediately grabbed for his right knee.
McKenzie was expected to vie for playing time at inside linebacker with veteran Tedy Bruschi, who is in the last year of his contract, and second-year player Gary Guyton. His loss leaves the Patriots with few other appealing options besides Bruschi and Guyton to play next to Jerod Mayo inside and could force the team to shuffle outside linebacker Adalius Thomas inside in certain defensive packages.
Unsigned draft picks like McKenzie are protected in minicamp by an injury protection agreement, spelling out that in the event of a career- or season-ending injury the team will negotiate in good faith with the player, based on the contract awarded to the player selected at the same spot in the previous year's draft. Last year's 97th overall pick, Bengals receiver Andre Caldwell, received a reported four-year, $2.265 million contract with a $560,000 signing bonus.
The injury is the latest hardship for the 23-year-old McKenzie, who has overcome a hard life to reach the NFL.
His father died when he was 9 years old, he broke his leg his junior year of high school, and he temporarily suspended his football career in 2005 to move back home and support his family by working the overnight shift at the front desk of a Tampa-area Hampton Inn after his mother was in a serious car accident.
McKenzie's injury means that both of the Patriots' third-round picks now have ACL issues. The Patriots also drafted North Carolina wide receiver Brandon Tate in the third round. Tate is still recovering from surgery in October to repair a torn ACL and a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Mike Reiss of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 
