Patriots’ captain and center, David Andrews, will likely miss the remainder of the 2024 season after undergoing shoulder surgery, head coach Jerod Mayo announced this morning.
This is the most crushing blow out of the many dealt to New England this season. Don’t get me wrong, Christian Barmore and Ja’Whuan Bentley are incredible losses, but losing Andrews cuts deeper than his value on the field.
You see, David Andrews is one of the last members of the old regime. The good regime. The WINNING regime. In his 10 years as a Patriot, he’s seen the change from a squad that went to three Super Bowls and won two of them, to a team with a 5-16 record since the start of last season. Super Bowl-winning experience, not to mention multiple Super Bowl-winning experience, is extremely rare in the NFL, making this loss to a young and seemingly hopeless New England roster incalculable.
I wrote in a blog last week about how putrid this Patriots offensive line has looked, and now it’s only gone and gotten worse. With Andrews out for the season, expect this level of security from the O-line moving forward:
Looking at last week’s matchup, if the six sacks and 10 quarterback hits against the Niners should tell you anything, it’s that Drake Maye shouldn’t come anywhere near playing time this season. Mayo shouldn’t let him sniff even a minute of on-field action. Hell, throw Eliot Wolf in there if Brissett goes down. Maybe then he’ll finally learn a lesson or two about what this team needs.
Why, you may ask? Well, take a look at Carolina and what their horrific O-line did to their quarterback. Bryce Young’s poise and confidence that he was so highly touted for were destroyed by constant pressure. Not the type of pressure you find in the media or family members, but the kind you’ll find in opposing defenses breathing down your neck on every snap.
Or, you could reminisce about what happened to Joe Burrow in his rookie season with Cincy’s god-awful O-line. If you’re more of a visual learner and reminiscing isn’t enough, I’m sure this will change your mind:
Sorry to do that to you, but I’m glad we’re on the same page now.
If David Andrews snapped his final ball last Sunday, he had a phenomenal career. I hope that’s not the case, but I was surprised he decided to play this season in the first place. He was an integral part of the dynasty’s success, and as much as I hope he comes back, he doesn’t owe us privileged New England fans anything else.
As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter/X @a2zsportstakes!