New England Patriots center David Andrews missed all of the 2019 season on injured reserve with blood clots in his lungs, but he announced on Instagram this week that he’ll be playing in 2020, so long as there is a season.
Andrews was asked whether he’ll have any restrictions heading into next season.
“I’m not really sure if there’s a real restriction on anything. I haven’t been told that,” he told reporters on a videoconference call on Tuesday. “Part of it was the medicine I was on and I’m off that medicine, so I can go about living my normal life. The recurrence thing, that’s something unfortunately you can’t really pin down, so I’m just going to go about my life, keep playing this game and doing what I can, stay as healthy as I can. I think it was just kind of a freak accident thing.”
Andrews, the Patriots’ starting center since he entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia in 2015, took a moment to reflect upon his support systems, and thanked all those that helped him get back on the field this season.
“I’m very fortunate that I am able to continue playing this game,” Andrews said. “I’m very appreciative of all the support I received from my family, my friends, my wife, but really the organization as a whole from the Kraft family down to Coach [Bill] Belichick to Josh [McDaniels], Scar [Dante Scarnecchia], all the coaches. And then obviously all the doctors, our medical staff, strength staff continuously working with me, to the doctors I had to deal with, the time they spent with me, the questions, a lot of phone calls, our team doctors.”
When Andrews headed to injured reserve, backup Ted Karras took over. He departed in free agency for the Miami Dolphins this offseason, which leaves the team with just Andrews and seventh-round pick, Dustin Woodard. New England badly needs Andrews in 2020, if he’s healthy.
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