FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots are making a change at center and parting ways with one of their franchise pillars over the past decade.
David Andrews, an eight-time captain and two-time Super Bowl champion, was released Thursday by the Patriots.
Andrews, 32, is rehabilitating from shoulder surgery that limited him to four games last season. If he chooses not to pursue extending his career elsewhere, the expectation is that the Patriots would hold a retirement ceremony for him to honor his widespread contributions to the franchise.
If that is the way things unfold, it would mirror what happened with receiver Julian Edelman, who had a chronic knee injury and was released as a procedural move before he announced his retirement in 2021.
Andrews, who has played in 124 regular-season games (121 starts) and 12 playoff games (10 starts) with New England, was selected as the center on the Patriots’ 2010s All-Decade Team.
Andrews’ rise from undrafted free agent in 2015 to Week 1 starter as a rookie has been one of the Patriots’ top underdog stories in recent memory.
“David Andrews’ career success is a shining example of what every NFL prospect should strive to achieve,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. “As a rookie free agent, David earned a starting assignment at center in his NFL debut, a position he anchored for the next decade. His leadership, work ethic, and dedication to the team earned him the respect and admiration of his coaches and teammates, who elected him as an eight-time team captain. The importance of his leadership during his career cannot be overstated. David is a true professional, and his impact on this organization will be felt for many years to come. On behalf of the entire Kraft family and the New England Patriots, I want to express my deepest gratitude for his countless contributions, and we look forward to celebrating his remarkable career.”
A University of Georgia alum, Andrews long credited former coach Bill Belichick for providing him the opportunity to play in the NFL, saying he was the only head coach to personally work him out before the 2015 draft.
Andrews, who along with long-snapper Joe Cardona were the Patriots’ longest tenured players, was entering the final year of his contract in 2025 and scheduled to earn a base salary of $4 million. In May 2024, the Patriots added the 2025 season to his contract, an extension that included $8 million guaranteed.
Andrews started the first four games last season before a shoulder injury that required surgery landed him on injured reserve. He has been rehabbing over the past five months.
The day after the 2024 season, Andrews summed up his situation.
“I did everything I could to try to play [in 2024], and it didn’t go well,” he said. “I had to make a tough decision, knowing the surgery might not go well, and it might lead to more problems. But thankfully that went well.
“Look, I know this is a tough business; the organization might come to me and tell me it’s time to move on. I might get into OTAs or training camp and know I can’t do it. If the organization decides to go in a different way, that’s their choice and I hope that’s not the case. I want to play football. I’ve done this for a long time — 26 years — and I’d like to make it 27 and see where it goes from there. I’m going to try to do it.”
Andrews’ void will be challenging for the Patriots to fill.
On the field, they have third-year players Ben Brown (10 starts in 2024) and Cole Strange (two starts in 2024) on the depth chart at center, along with backup Lecitus Smith.
Off the field, Andrews was the team’s Ron Burton Community Service Award recipient in 2020, which is the most prestigious off-field honor given by the franchise. Andrews also served as a de facto spokesman for the locker room and often was the first player to arrive for postgame interviews.
