Two Super Bowl victories and a decade with the New England Patriots later, David Andrews has decided to call it a career.
Andrews, who was released by the Pats in March, is retiring, the team announced on Wednesday. New England will hold a retirement news conference for Andrews on Monday.
Andrews was a mainstay at center for the Patriots through the end of New England's dynasty, starting in three Super Bowls and helping the franchise to Lombardi Trophies in victories over the Atlanta Falcons (Super Bowl LI) and Los Angeles Rams (Super Bowl LIII).
The 32-year-old was never a Pro Bowler but was a premier center largely from 2017 through 2022, earning a career-best 83.5 PFF overall grade in 2017 during the Patriots' march to Super Bowl LII -- a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. During his career, he snapped the ball to the legendary Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett, Cam Newton, Mac Jones and the newest face of the franchise, Drake Maye.
Injuries took their toll, though. Andrews, who played in 124 career games with 121 starts, missed the duration of the 2019 season due to blood clots. He missed multiple games in 2020 and 2022, and last season played in only four contests when he required rotator cuff surgery.
In 2025, free-agent Garrett Bradbury or rookie Jared Wilson is likely to get the start under center at the dawn of a new season and a new era under head coach Mike Vrabel.
Andrews' final game was a Week 4 loss last year to the San Francisco 49ers.
His first was a 2015 season-opening victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers that would kick off a campaign in which the Patriots advanced to the AFC Championship Game. That was the norm for the franchise when Andrews joined them as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia.
He began his career amid a dynastic run and has ended it during a rebuild.
Andrews admitted to being a "little shocked" by his release and said he would need some time to ponder his future. The time has come to call it a career.
