Andrews hopes this season won't be his last
The Patriots suffered a massive blow when they placed David Andrews on season-ending injured reserve, and it sounds like the veteran center will undergo extensive rehab over the offseason.
Andrews suffered a shoulder injury in New England’s Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The 32-year-old will need surgery, and he’ll have to watch from the sidelines as head coach Jerod Mayo tries to fix the offensive line.
It sounded like surgery was a last-resort option for Andrews, who hoped he could come back this season. The two-time Super Bowl wants to continue his football career, and he’ll have to go through significant steps to do so.
“In ’21 I ripped the rotator cuff off the bone. Now I’ve torn it in the meat of it,” Andrews said on “The Quick Snap” podcast, per CLNS’ Mike Kadlick. “So what they’re gonna try to do is put a — now this is someone who didn’t graduate college trying to explain — but they’re gonna try to put a sheath over this and hopefully the muscles regrow.
“It’s not 100%, but it gives me the best shot to continue my football career and that’s all I can ask for.”
Nick Leverett replaced Andrews as the starting center in Week 5, and there was a steep dropoff. Cole Strange could return from the physically unable to perform list and play center, but until that becomes a possibility, New England will have to make do with what it has on the roster while Andrews hopes to continue his career.