The Patriots have struggled to field a healthy offensive line this season, with Cole Strange, Sidy Sow, Vederian Lowe, and Caedan Wallace dealing with various injuries over the first four weeks.
Now, New England will lose starting center and team captain David Andrews for the remainder of the season after he injured his shoulder against the 49ers in Week 4. Andrews will undergo surgery to fix his shoulder, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, after briefly debating if he could play through the injury for the rest of the year. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo confirmed the season-ending surgery during a press conference on Wednesday, per the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.
Backup center Nick Leverett is expected to replace Andrews in the Patriots’ starting lineup. The majority of Leverett’s NFL experience has come at guard, but the Patriots gave him plenty of snaps at center in the preseason after projected backup center Jake Andrews suffered an offseason injury that required surgery and ended his season. The Patriots also have undrafted rookie center Bryan Hudson on their practice squad. He could see some gameday elevations or even a promotion to the active roster as New England figures out their center depth.
Known as one of the toughest players in the NFL, Andrews considered delaying his surgery until the offseason, explaining the process to former teammate Brian Hoyer on a recent episode of their co-hosted podcast, The Quick Snap.
“First of all, it’s frustrating. Being hurt is a very frustrating thing, especially when you want to be out there playing,” Andrews said. “As a player, sometimes you have to make decisions if you being out there is the best thing for the team, and if you can perform.”
But Andrews has both the Patriots’ and his own long-term plans to consider. The ninth-year center — in place as a starter since Tom Brady‘s age-38 season — signed a one-year extension with New England in May that keeps him on the team through 2025. Mayo opted to start veteran Jacoby Brissett over third overall pick Drake Maye partially due to the uncertain state of New England’s offensive line.
At 1-3, the Patriots are not expected to make a playoff push as they develop a young roster with a first-time head coach. With Maye expected to take over at quarterback in 2025 (or potentially later this season), Andrews and the Patriots would likely prefer that the veteran center be fully healthy for the prized prospect’s first full season as a starter.
Gotta be ready for the dozen trivia