New England Patriots center David Andrews is expected to have shoulder surgery that will end his 2024 season, coach Jerod Mayo said Wednesday.
Andrews has started all four games for New England this year and has been a reliable starter for the Patriots since joining the franchise in 2015 as a rookie free agent.
The six-time captain has started 121 games and won two Super Bowls with the Patriots.
“He runs the show out there and I’m just co-hosting,” Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett said Wednesday. “He was one of the reasons I wanted to come back here. … He means so much to this team on and off the field. … You wish you had 53 David Andrews.”
Jerod Mayo confirmed that David Andrews will require surgery and will likely miss the season.
Mayo: “The first word I’d save about David is toughness. … I fully expect him to still be around there building and maybe he’ll be a coach” down the line. pic.twitter.com/5D6bSbUcsm
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) October 2, 2024
What this means for the Patriots
The loss of Andrews for the rest of the season is a really difficult one for the Patriots for two reasons. But let’s first start with the obvious one.
This Patriots offensive line is already bad. Really bad. They rank last in the NFL in pressure rate allowed (46.7 percent of dropbacks) despite ranking 18th in how often they face a blitz. One of the few positive spots for the line has been Andrews, who, even at 32, has held up fine. More importantly, he’s a steadying presence. He helped Jacoby Brissett re-set the offensive line based on what the defense was doing and was expected to be leaned on heavily in that role when rookie Drake Maye eventually takes over at quarterback.
The offensive line has already cycled through four different left tackles and two different left guards, and now faces another change as they try to sort things out.
In Andrews’ place, the Pats will turn to Nick Leverett, who played fine in relief of Andrews on Sunday, but comes without a proven track record of success with only 10 career starts in four seasons.
The other reason this is such a big blow to the Patriots is because of what Andrews provides off the field. He’s a multi-year captain for the Patriots and one of just five remaining Patriots who was on the team for the last Super Bowl. He’s someone that the team hoped would mentor a struggling offensive line and help young players develop. And he’s someone who has the trust and respect of Mayo who earlier this season called Andrews “one of the toughest guys I’ve ever been around.”
Now they’re left to try to right this ship without their captain. — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer
(Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
