It’s been a quiet couple of weeks for the Patriots, but New England reportedly took care of some business with one of its most important players.
The Patriots restructured the contract for veteran center David Andrews, ESPN’s Field Yates reported Friday. According to Yates, the Patriots converted more than $3 million of Andrews’ contract into a signing bonus which helped free up more than $2 million of salary cap space. However, the Patriots are using almost all of that space to get their three final three unsigned rookies under contract.
Andrews started all 17 games for the Patriots last season, playing 99% of the snaps. Only three interior offensive linemen played more snaps than Andrews. The 29-year-old allowed just one sack, tied for fewest among O-linemen who played 80% of snaps, and his 98.5% pass-blocking efficiency as graded by Pro Football Focus ranked seventh among all qualified linemen. Andrews is also considered one of the best run-blockers in the NFL.
Andrews once again is a pivotal piece for the Patriots offense, perhaps even more so in 2022. He’ll be the anchor of a new-look interior offensive line following the departures of Shaq Mason and Ted Karras. New England is also in a transitional phase on offense with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels leaving for Las Vegas. The Patriots will lean on Joe Judge and Matt Patricia to shepherd the offense, the latter overseeing the offensive line despite Patricia’s history on the defensive side. That could make Andrews’ job even more important this season.
Andrews is entering the second season of a four-year contract in which the first two years were guaranteed. He’ll carry a cap charge just below $4.3 million in 2022, per Yates.
