Once David Andrews hit free agency and the New England Patriots brought back Ted Karras, it seemed certain the 2-time Super Bowl champion was as good as gone.
However, in the middle of the night on Thursday, Bill Belichick struck another free-agent deal and re-signed Andrews to a four-year contract, per ESPN’s Field Yates.
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Andrews, 28, missed all of 2019 with blood clots, but he came back strong in 2019.
He missed four games with a hand injury but helped anchor a strong Patriots run game throughout the season. He’s yet to make a Pro Bowl in his career, but when you place him with the other O-linemen in New England, we could be looking at something special.
Quite honestly, it may be hard for any team in the NFL to put a better offensive line on the field. At this point, Cam Newton might be the happiest man in the league. He has a great opportunity to turn things around, playing behind what appears to be an elite O-line.
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Twitter Reacts to David Andrews’ Re-Signing
ESPN’s Mike Reiss ran down some of Andrews’ legendary accomplishments with the Patriots.
David Andrews:
🏈 Signed as ’15 undrafted FA for $15k signing bonus
🏈 Opening day starter as rookie
🏈 Four-year captain
🏈 Two-time Super Bowl champ
🏈 83 games/78 starts (includes playoffs)
🏈 Voted to Patriots All-Decade Team
🏈 Chugs many 🍺🍺 at Super Bowl parades
Jerry Thornton dropped this very sarcastic tweet about Andrews’ return. We think this means he’s happy about the deal.
David Andrews is just the latest in a series of Patriots players who don’t understand how miserable they are playing for Belichick. Very sad.
Doug Kyed of NESN talked about how the Patriots likely expected to lose Andrews in free agency, explaining why New England brought Ted Karras back after one year with the Miami Dolphins. Even Julian Edelman thought he’d played his last down with Andrews.
The Patriots didn’t expect to bring back David Andrews, which is why they turned to Ted Karras on Wednesday.
Wide receiver Julian Edelman even posted a goodbye to David Andrews via Instagram on Thursday.
Change of plans, and Andrews is back.
CLNS’ Evan Lazar says Andrews actually had better offers to play elsewhere, but he still returned to New England. Perhaps the Patriot Way isn’t as dead as some suggested when Tom Brady helped lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win last month.
Not surprising but David Andrews turned down better offers to return to New England. Ultimately, he just didn’t want to leave the #Patriots and decided to take less to return.
Kyed comes back with this look at the Patriots’ potentially dominant offensive line.
Here’s another breakdown which demonstrates the depth and versatility from the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels:
Patriots offensive line:
Tackle:
Trent Brown
Isaiah Wynn (can play gaurd)
Onwenu (can play guard)
Herron (can play guard)
Cunningham
Cajuste
Center:
Andrews
Karras (can play gaurd)
Martin
Guard:
Mason
Reynolds
Toran
Two words come to mind: depth and versatility
There are so many directions to go with these 12 guys, but there is a possibility one or two could be moved or released.
The New-Look Patriots Offense
Take a gander at the potential starting 11 for the Patriots on offense.
- QB – Cam Newton
- RB – Damien Harris
- LT – Isaiah Wynn
- LG – Shaq Mason
- C – David Andrews
- RG – Mike Onwenu
- RT – Trent Brown
- WR – Nelson Agholor
- WR – Julian Edelman
- TE – Jonnu Smith
- TE – Hunter Henry
There is so much versatility there because the team also can attack with a fullback like Jakob Johnson or Dalton Keene.
They could bring on a third tight end in Devin Asiasi or dig deeper at wide receiver with Kendrick Bourne, N’Keal Harry, and/or an explosive rookie they could draft next month.
To compound that, the Patriots might also be looking to trade up in the first round to put themselves in a position to take a quarterback for the future, such as Ohio State’s Justin Fields or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance.
If things go as planned, this could be one of the most fruitful offseasons in New England’s recent memory.
Also Read:
- Twitter Reacts to Patriots Three-Time Super Bowl Champion Retiring
- Twitter Reacts to Patriots Bringing Back Two 2-Time Super Bowl Champions
- Aggressive Trade Proposals Have Patriots Landing Franchise QB in Draft
- Patriots in a Fight to Keep Team Captain and 2-Time Super Bowl Champion
- Patriots Showing Interest in Signing Super Bowl Champion RB
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Twitter Reacts to Patriots Surprisingly Re-Signing 2-Time Super Bowl Champ