Andy Levitre - Pro Football Rumors

Andy Levitre Retires From NFL

May 14th, 2019 at 12:06pm CST by Zachary Links

This is the end of the line for former Falcons guard Andy Levitre. On Tuesday, Levitre announced his retirement via social media:

“Unfortunately, due to injury my body won’t allow me to continue any longer,” Levitre wrote. “Thank you to my wife and children, my family, friends, coaches, teammates and all of the fans who supported me on this journey.”

Levitre came to the Falcons via trade in 2015 and started every game of his first two seasons in Atlanta. Unfortunately, injuries began to slow him down in 2017. In the last two years, Levitre tore both of triceps and was limited to just two games in 2018.

This wasn’t an easy decision for the veteran – in March, Levitre indicated that he would not retire. But, on the eve of his 33rd birthday, Levitre has decided to hang ’em up.

Before joining the Falcons, the former second-round pick spent time with the Bills and Titans. He leaves the sport after playing in 143 games (all starts) over the course of ten seasons.

Andy Levitre Not Planning To Retire

March 12th, 2019 at 10:44pm CST by Rory Parks

One of the most durable guards in the league for nearly a decade, Andy Levitre tore his triceps in the Falcons’ second game of the season in 2018 and landed on IR. That immediately led to speculation that Levitre could consider retiring this year, especially since his contract with Atlanta is up.

However, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets that Levitre, who turns 33 in May, is not ready to call it quits and wants to continue playing, though it sounds as if his triceps injury is not completely healed.

It also sounds as though Levitre will not be back with the Falcons, as the club agreed to terms with two free agent guards this afternoon. He agreed to a pay cut with Atlanta last season in order to remain with the team, and the fact that a triceps injury also ended his 2017 campaign prematurely will surely give other teams pause.

But despite the early end to the 2017 season, Levitre graded out as one of the 20 best players at his position in the NFL that year, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, so he surely has something left in the tank. If he hasn’t changed his mind in a couple of months, and if he can get healthy, he will attract some interest on the open market.

Falcons G Andy Levitre Done For Year

September 18th, 2018 at 3:03pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have placed Andy Levitre on injured reserve, according to a team announcement. Although league rules allow players to return from IR, this will be a season-ender for the starting left guard.

“After receiving the tests results on Andy’s injury from Sunday’s game, it has been determined that he will miss the remainder of the season with a triceps injury,” said Falcons coach Dan Quinn in a statement. “Andy worked extremely hard to get back on the field after a similar injury last year, and there is no doubt his leadership will continue to be felt this year. We have a ton of respect for Andy and what he stands for, and what he means to our team.”

The injury forced Levitre out of the team’s Week 2 win over the Panthers and tests later confirmed the club’s worst fears. The 32-year-old will be out of action until at least next September and one can’t help but wonder whether he’ll consider retirement in the offseason.

To take Levitre’s place on the roster, the Falcons have signed guard Zac Kerin. Kerin, 27, has spent time with the Vikings, Lions and Giants and played in 16 games over his four-year career.

Wes Schweitzer replaced Levitre in Week 2 and figures to take over for him in the starting lineup.

Falcons, Andy Levitre Restructure Deal

March 7th, 2018 at 2:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Andy Levitre is staying put in Atlanta. The Falcons have agreed to a restructured contract with the standout guard, a person familiar with the negotiations tells D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Levitre was set to enter the year with an $8.375MM cap number. He’s accepted a base salary reduction from $7MM to a fully guaranteed $3.5MM, while his salary cap charge will drop from $8.375MM to $5.875MM, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Levitre, 32 in May, has been one of the league’s better guards since entering the league in 2009. In 2017, he graded out as one of the 20 best players at his position in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. He started every game since joining the Falcons in 2015 until he suffered a torn triceps late last year. He returned in Week 17, but he landed on IR after re-aggravating the injury.

Had he been released, Levitre would have profiled as one of the very best interior lineman on this year’s open market. For a look at those who are available, check out PFR’s rankings of the top offensive free agents by position.

Falcons G Andy Levitre To Return In 2018

February 28th, 2018 at 1:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Guard Andy Levitre will be back and ready to go next season, according to Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure). Levitre missed time at the end of the 2017 regular season and was unable to suit up for their playoff games against the Rams and Eagles.

Levitre, 32 in May, is under contract with the team for one more season. He is slated to carry an $8.375MM cap hit and it’s conceivable that the Falcons will seek a cap smoothing extension with him in the coming weeks. As of this writing, the Falcons have roughly $11.5MM in cap room to work with and they’re hoping to extend quarterback Matt Ryan while addressing other needs.

Levitre had never missed a regular season game in his NFL career until he suffered a partially torn triceps in Week 13. He attempted to play through the pain in a late season contest against the Panthers, but he was forced out after only five plays. Last year, Levitre graded out as the 17th best guard in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.

Falcons Place LG Andy Levitre On IR

January 2nd, 2018 at 11:24am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons will head into the playoffs without the services of a starting offensive lineman. Left guard Andy Levitre has been placed on injured reserve, according to a team announcement.

Levitre missed the bulk of December with a partially torn triceps. He attempted to return to action on Sunday against the Panthers, but he lasted only five plays. Ben Garland took over for Levitre in the winning effort against Atlanta and he’ll be the starter for the Falcons on Saturday when they face the Rams.

Levitre, 31, has been one of the NFL’s better guards since entering the league in 2009. This year, he graded out as one of the 20 best guards in the league, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.

To take Levitre’s spot on the 53-man roster, the team has promoted running back Terrence Magee from the practice squad.

Andy Levitre Won’t Play In Week 14

December 4th, 2017 at 6:23pm CST by GregGoldstein

Falcons guard Andy Levitre left the Falcons game vs. the Vikings on Sunday and wasn’t able to return due to a partially torn triceps. Now with a quick turnaround for the team’s Thursday night affair against the Saints, Levitre will not be able to suit up in Atlanta’s Week 14 contest, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

However, Rapoport does clarify that a source tells him the injury is not a season ender. The team is hopeful that the lineman could return after just “2-3 weeks”.

Levitre, 31, has been one of the better guards in the league since he entered the NFL as a second round pick by the Bills in 2009. Even as he gets older, Levitre still ranks as a top 20 guard in football this year, according to Pro Football Focus. He grades out similarly in terms of run and pass blocking, so there’s not one area he shows great weakness or strength in so far in 2017.

Backup lineman Ben Garland came into replace Levitre in yesterday’s game, so you can expect him to get the first crack as the starting left guard on Thursday. The team also has Ty Sambrailo, Austin Pasztor and Sean Harlow on the bench for depth purposes.

South Notes: Mariota, Texans, Bucs, Titans

October 19th, 2015 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

After taking a low hit to his knee on Sunday, Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota continued to play, so the Tennessee coaching staff is “cautiously optimistic” about the status of that knee, says Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. According to Florio, Mariota is undergoing an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury, and the club is hoping that it’s just an MCL issue, which can heal with rest.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s South divisions:

Texans safety Lonnie Ballentine will undergo surgery after dislocating his left knee and suffering significant ligament damage, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Ballentine’s 2015 season will be over, and he figures to land on injured reserve within the next few days.
Two free agent fullbacks are auditioning for the Buccaneers today, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, who tweets that ex-Giant Henry Hynoski and Emil Igwenagu are in town for the tryout.
After being traded by the Titans prior to the season, Falcons guard Andy Levitre is hoping to show his old team that it “made a bad decision” in getting rid of him, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com writes. A source tells McClure that Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt was never really a fan of Levitre in Tennessee, but Falcons head coach says the veteran guard has been a “great addition” for Atlanta.
Don’t expect the Titans to make a change at head coach or general manager during the season, says Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com.
After head coach Gus Bradley said that his Jaguars need to “learn how to finish” games when they have a lead, one player tells Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union that “a lot of people will be looking for a job” if the club can’t figure that out. Jacksonville lost its fourth straight game on Sunday, falling to 1-5 on the season.

Contracts Restructured For Levitre, Unger

September 9th, 2015 at 8:36am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of NFC South offensive linemen have restructured their contracts with their new teams, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com, who reports that Falcons guard Andy Levitre and Saints center Max Unger have both reworked their deals.

Levitre, acquired last week by the Falcons, had originally been due $27.3MM over the next four seasons, but Atlanta reduced that figure to $23.25MM and sliced his 2015 salary from $6.5MM to $1.5MM (Twitter links via Yates). In return, the former Titans guard received a $5.5MM signing bonus, which will drop his cap hit for this season from $6.5MM to $2.875MM. As Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com details (via Twitter), Levitre’s base salaries for 2016 and 2017 have been reduced as well.

Meanwhile, the division-rival Saints completed a simple restructure on their new center’s contract, converting $3MM of Unger’s base salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Yates). Since the ex-Seahawk has just two years left on his deal, that bonus will prorate equally in 2015 and 2016, giving New Orleans an extra $1.5MM in cap room this year.

Neither restructure is expected to open the door for the Saints or Falcons to add a notable player — they’re simply designed to create some additional flexibility if and when the teams need to put players on injured reserve and bring in injury replacements throughout the season.

Titans Cut Nine Players

September 4th, 2015 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Titans are down to 65 players, following the team’s latest round of roster cuts. That means that the club will have to make 12 more roster moves in advance of tomorrow afternoon’s deadline in order to get down to 53 players.

Here are the players who were cut by Tennessee today, via a press release:

DL Isaako Aaitui
CB Ri’Shard Anderson
FB Zach Boren
LB Kaelin Burnett
C Gabe Ikard
WR Josh Stewart
LB Andy Studebaker
DB Jemea Thomas
DB Khalid Wooten

In addition to cutting those nine players, the Titans also removed a 10th player from their roster by trading veteran guard Andy Levitre to the Falcons earlier in the day. In a piece for TitansOnline.com, Jim Wyatt explained why the team moved on from Levitre.