The team captain will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.
Four weeks into the 2024 NFL season, the New England Patriots are already in “when it rains, it pours” territory. Not only did they lose three straight games after an opening day win, their list of injuries also keeps adding some prominent names.
The latest player to go down is starting center David Andrews. As was confirmed by head coach Jerod Mayo on Wednesday, the 32-year-old will undergo surgery and as a result miss the remainder of the season.
It goes without saying that losing Andrews is a big blow for a team already on the ropes. What exactly does it mean, though? Let’s assess.
Much-maligned O-line takes its biggest hit yet
Due to a combination of injury and performance issues, the Patriots had to use four different offensive line combinations over their first four games of the season. The instability was initially contained to the left side of the line, but has now reached the center spot as well.
Losing Andrews is without a doubt the biggest hit yet. His importance as the group’s — and, frankly, the offense’s — leaders on and off the field cannot be overstated, especially considering the youth and inexperience surrounding him both along the O-line and in the locker room as a whole.
“It’s tough,” said Jerod Mayo on Wednesday. “One thing about Dave, the first word I would say is just toughness. He’s a guy who, he’s been a captain here, he has great leadership ability, he’s tough, he’s able to communicate across the front, and it’s definitely a huge loss.”
Nick Leverett is the next man up — in theory
Andrews going down for the year puts stress on the Patriots’ “next man up” mantra, and one player in particular: Nick Leverett, who will take over for the long-time starter for the time being. On paper, Leverett will be a downgrade — he’s a backup for a reason — but that does not mean he cannot play serviceable football.
Fact is, he did just that after Andrews left Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers in the first quarter.
With David Andrews out for the foreseeable future, worth mentioning that backup Nick Leverett didn’t allow a pressure vs the 49ers (though he was beaten a few times) and looked good as a run blocker
Leverett also rotated with Andrews at times during practices open to media pic.twitter.com/mySm81AHp2
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 2, 2024
“I thought Nick did a decent job stepping in there this past game,” said Jerod Mayo. “Now that he’ll get more reps during practice, you expect him to continue to get better every single day. That’s our expectation.”
Of course, there are injury concerns about Leverett as well. The free agency pickup was limited in practice on Wednesday due to an ankle injury.
Four weeks in, two captains down
Before the season started, the Patriots voted six players to represent them as captains. Now, two of them are already lost for the season: Andrews is not expected back this year, and neither is linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, who suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2.
While both will remain as involved as possible throughout their respective recovery processes, they will be missed. After all, Andrews and Bentley are two of the few holdovers from the Patriots’ dynasty days, and veteran players deserving of the “foundational” label.
When Bentley went down, his captain’s patch went to safety Kyle Dugger. The expectation is that a similar move will happen now that Andrews is down; tight end Hunter Henry, a team captain in 2023, looks like a logical candidate to replace him on the leadership council.
Of course, as quarterback Jacoby Brissett pointed out, there is no replacing Andrews.
“He means so much to this team, not just on the field but off the field — his presence in the locker room, obviously this community. He’s been here for so long,” Brissett said. “You wish you had 53 David Andrews.”
Offensive communication will be tested
Andrews’ role along the Patriots offensive line extended beyond blocking and snapping the football. In essence, he was the glue to hold everything together due to his experience and his ability to make line-calls up front — something Jacoby Brissett also relied on.
“He kind of runs the show out there. I’m just co-hosting when he’s out there,” the starting quarterback said.
With him out, both Brissett and Nick Leverett will have to step up when it comes to making calls and just the overall communication along the line. That might become much more of an issue for New England than any physical or technical drop-off from Andrews to Leverett.
New England will gain cap space in 2025
As a result of Andrews missing the final 13 games of the 2024 season, the Patriots will gain some cap space in 2025. The veteran center, after all, will now not be in a position to earn 13 active roster bonuses that were originally considered likely to be earned and are therefore counting against New England’s books this season.
As a consequence, the team will gain a credit on its cap next offseason. According to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, that credit is worth $573,529 while Andrews’ salary cap number in 2025 is now $6.676 million.
A roster spot will open up
Jerod Mayo said on Wednesday that Andrews will be moved to injured reserve in the near future, which in turn will create an open spot on the Patriots’ 53-man roster. While adding more offensive line help might make sense to take advantage of that opening, the team also might go in a different direction.
Wednesday, after all, saw the return of three previously injured players to practice. While wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (PUP), linebacker Sione Takitaki (PUP) and linebacker/safety Marte Mapu (IR) currently remain on their respective reserve lists, they are eligible to come off at any point in their 21-day return window. An open roster spot might therefore come in handy for those purposes.