The New England Patriots suffered a significant blow this week, as center David Andrews sustained a shoulder injury that will knock him out for the rest of the year, according to coach Jerod Mayo.
"He's going to require surgery," Mayo said, via NBCS Boston. "He will probably go on IR and be done for the season."
Andrews was injured on the opening drive of New England's Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He was replaced in the lineup by Nick Leverett.
Andrews was really the only consistently reliable player on New England's offensive line, and his absence will be extremely disadvantageous for the offense. The unit was already one of the weakest -- and thinnest -- in the NFL, checking in 29th in Pro Football Focus' run-blocking grade and 30th in pass-blocking grade. They have cleared the way for just 1.00 yards before contact per carry (27th in the league, via TruMedia) while allowing pressure on a league-worst 46.7% of dropbacks.
The Patriots were already reluctant to throw rookie Drake Maye to the wolves behind this porous offensive line, and they may be even more so now that the stalwart veteran center won't be available. Mayo has already said that Jacoby Brissett will remain the starter, but getting Maye reps is important enough that he has to take over under center eventually.
With the line in tatters and a skill-position corps that is not exactly elite, it's going to be tough for him to show off more of his skill set. He was already pressured on 5 of his 12 dropbacks during his brief appearance at the tail end of a blowout loss to the New York Jets, and we could likely expect to see more of the same if he were to take over for good.