FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — New England Patriots center David Andrews, a nine-year veteran and two-time Super Bowl champion, is expected to have season-ending shoulder surgery, coach Jerod Mayo said on Wednesday.
Andrews left Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers in the first half and did not return. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett said he spoke with Andrews, a team captain, on Wednesday morning and he was still considering whether to try to play through it.
“I was like, ‘Dave, as much as I would love for you to,’” Brissett said. “When a guy like that goes down, you know he’s not going down for anything minor. … You wish you had 53 David Andrews.”
The Patriots’ offensive line has been one of the biggest problems so far this season, with Brissett getting sacked 15 times — 11 of them in the past two games. Three other offensive linemen were also on the final injury report last week.
In addition, the team has already put five players on injured reserve, including linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley, another captain.
“I feel like this year, being a captain is kind of like the Madden curse," Mayo said.
Mayo said the team discussed bringing in a veteran to bolster the offensive line, but decided against it. Backup Nick Leverett is expected to get his first start of the season against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
“I thought Nick did a decent job stepping in there this past game,” Mayo said. “Now that he’ll get more reps during practice, you expect him to get better every single day. That’s our expectation.”
Brissett said one of the reasons he returned to New England after bouncing from Indianapolis to Miami to Cleveland to Washington was his relationship with Andrews.
“He kinda runs the show out there,” Brissett said. “I’m just kinda co-hosting.”
A 32-year-old 2015 undrafted free agent out of Georgia, Andrews has spent his entire nine-year career with the Patriots. Only long-snapper Joe Cardona, who came into the league the same year as Andrews, has been with the team since the Super Bowl championships after the 2016 and 2018 seasons.
“I still expect him to be around the building,” Mayo said. “Maybe he’ll be a future coach at some point and time.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL