Why Patriots Captain Is Using Tom Brady As Motivation For Home Stretch

FOXBORO, Mass. — The playoff dream died weeks ago for the 2023 Patriots. But New England’s players still have something to play for as their lost season winds down.

Veteran center and co-captain David Andrews spoke Wednesday about the opportunity several of his teammates will have to prove themselves over the final three games.

Some of New England’s young offensive linemen, for instance, likely will see increased playing time down the stretch after left guard Cole Strange and tackle Conor McDermott both were knocked out of Sunday’s loss to Kansas City with injuries. Strange subsequently was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.

Second-year running back Kevin Harris, who scored a touchdown against the Chiefs, was signed to the 53-man roster this week. With Rhamondre Stevenson still sidelined with a high ankle sprain, Harris should see more looks moving forward as Ezekiel Elliott’s understudy.

Quarterback Bailey Zappe, of course, is in the midst of a late-season audition after replacing the ineffective Mac Jones in Week 13. And young cornerbacks like Shaun Wade and Alex Austin should have substantial gameday roles with J.C. Jackson now on the non-football illness list.

Andrews knows the importance of these opportunities. When he was an undrafted rookie in 2015, an injury to Bryan Stork allowed Andrews to start 11 games at center for a Patriots team that lost in the AFC Championship. He took over as the full-time starter the following season and has held that job ever since.

The 31-year-old also pointed to another obvious example of a Patriots player who got his chance and capitalized: Tom Brady.

“As a team, you want to go down, you want to fight, you want to compete, you want to try to get as many wins as you can,” Andrews said. “There’s obviously guys that have something to prove for themselves, and guys are going to get different opportunities coming up here (with) injuries, things like that. Obviously, up front with Cole and Conor dealing with some stuff, there’s going to be guys that have opportunities. Personally, when I came into the league, that’s how I was able to start in this league.

“You think about Tom Brady. We were literally talking about it the other day: What if Drew Bledsoe had never gotten hurt? I was talking about it with somebody, talking about opportunities. You never know in life when those opportunities are going to be. When it’s going to be to, hell, talk to somebody who might be your soulmate — whatever it may be. So you’ve got to take advantage of them.”

The 3-11 Patriots will be in Denver this Sunday for a Christmas Eve matchup with the Broncos. They’ll then play at Buffalo on New Year’s Eve before closing out the season with a Week 18 home game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium.