The New England Patriots roster is down to only two players who have won a Super Bowl title with the franchise.
Veteran center David Andrews, a two-time Super Bowl champion, was released Thursday after 10 years with the organization. That leaves linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley and long snapper Joe Cardona as the only players to win a title in New England.
Andrews anchored the Patriots offensive line while serving as a team captain for eight seasons. He's a future Patriots Hall of Famer, making the sudden nature of his release a bit of a head-scratcher. Especially given the current state of the o-line.
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Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry shared their reactions to Andrews' release during Thursday's episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast.
🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: What do Andrews release and Patriots FA adds say about team's direction? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"Did he get done dirty here, do you think?" Curran asked. "I look at it as more of a, this happens to all of them. Vrabel's sitting there and he got his ass traded to Kansas City. It happens. It doesn't mean I'm any less empathetic or that I don't look at a guy who came back from blood clots and walked out and talked to us after every single demoralizing, nut-crushing loss and handled himself in a dignified manner and professionally and tried to stiff-upper-lip it all the way through.
"That's an exceptional player that the Patriots said goodbye to, but they say goodbye to all of them at some point so there's never a day in which, realistically speaking, you didn't see it coming eventually for somebody."
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Perry didn't question the decision to part ways with Andrews, but he was perplexed by the timing of the move.
"No question, it happens to them all. And I'm sure even David Andrews, whenever we hear from him in a lengthier capacity -- my guess is, knowing the kind of guy he is, is he'll take the high road and say something along those lines," Perry said.
"But I do just wonder about the timing of it, because I don't know what the rush was. ... I think they were pursuing other people to play that position. And so maybe, once they had it in their minds, 'We know that we want someone else to play center for us in 2025.' Maybe as soon as that decision gets made, you feel like you have to call him and let him know. ...
"I don't know what the right answer is here. But I would just say if a player like that, who might be a Patriots Hall of Famer and have a red jacket the way Vrabel does at some point in time, would you not just give him the opportunity and say, 'Hey, you still wanna play? 'Cause we may be adding someone here, but if you really want to play we'll welcome you to camp with open arms.'"
Also in the episode:
- Examining Eliot Wolf’s role
- Mike Vrabel wants free agents that want to come here.