Report: New England Patriots plan to release captain David Andrews

On Thursday morning, it broke that the New England Patriots were planning to release veteran center and team captain David Andrews. Now, the team has made his release official.

This decision comes as Andrews is recovering from shoulder surgery. Because of that, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports that if Andrews were to make the decision to retire, rather than look for a new team to play for, then the Patriots would host a ceremony to honor the contributions he’s made to the team. The 2025 season was supposed to be the final year of his contract.

The move to release Andrews is largely seen as procedural. Reiss also compared it to the end of Julian Edelman‘s career. Chronic injury issues forced his retirement, and the Patriots released him as a point of procedure before honoring him after his retirement.

In a statement following his release, Patriots CEO and chairman Robert Kraft shared some thoughts on David Andrews. That included praising him for how he’s represented the franchise.

“David Andrews’ career success is a shining example of what every NFL prospect should strive to achieve,” Kraft said. “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.”

Andrews has made himself a legend in New England. An undrafted offensive lineman who played his college ball for the Georgia Bulldogs, Andrews joined the Patriots in 2015. From there, he quickly stood out and was the starter in Week 1 of his rookie season due to injury issues. Andrews wouldn’t look back.

Early in his time with the Patriots, Andrews played alongside Tom Brady, developing an excellent connection with his quarterback. Quickly, he became a key member of the Patriots offense that won two Super Bowls and played in three during the later years of the franchise’s dynastic run. That included beating the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl. Unsurprisingly, he would end up being named to the New England Patriots 2010s All-Decade team.

The team regressed in the later years of Andrews’ career. In particular, once Brady left and was replaced by Mac Jones and later the rookie season for Drake Maye. That rookie season for Maye came in 2024 and was also the first year that Andrews played for anyone outside of Bill Belichick in New England. However, his shoulder injury limited him to just four games in 2024.

“I did everything I could to try to play [in 2024] and it didn’t go well. 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,” Andrews previously said.

“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.”

Ben Brown, Cole Strange, and Lecitus Smith are all players on the Patriots roster who may be asked to try and replace Andrews. However, free agency is in full swing, the NFL Draft is upcoming, and there will be trades available. So, New England has options.

Andrews parts with the New England Patriots, having played in 124 regular season games, making 121 starts. He also appeared in 12 playoff games with 10 starts. In 2020, Andrews won the team’s Ron Burton Community Service Award.