This week was an emotional one for former Patriots center David Andrews, who received what was an absolutely terrific sendoff by the club at Gillette Stadium on Monday.
The former captain had a tough time holding back the tears as he spoke in front of the large gathering that was on hand, with a video montage from a total of nearly 20 of his former teammates playing before he spoke.
“As you can see, there’s a lot of emotions,” said Andrews. “The one that kept sticking out to me was gratitude. When I look back on the 26 years I’ve been blessed to play this game, that’s really all I could think about. Especially playing O-line since I was six years old, you learn very quickly, it’s not about you, but it’s about the team. For my whole career, I’ve been surrounded by the best team anyone could ask for.”
In addition to his family, Andrews thanked everyone from Robert Kraft and former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, all the way down the line to the kitchen staff and the custodians.
“We couldn’t do it without any of you all,” he said. “You guys not only did everything you could to make our life easier and job easier, but you always did it with a smile on your face, and you brought me so much joy each and every day, and I can’t thank you enough.”
The video montage included quite a line-up. Among teammates who recorded messages for Andrews were Tom Brady, Joe Thuney, Shaq Mason, Marcus Cannon, Nate Solder, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Brian Hoyer, James White, Jarrett Stidham, A.J. Derby, Devin McCourty, Matthew Slater, Duron Harmon, Jason McCourty, Lawrence Guy, and Trey Flowers.
“I loved every minute with you,” said Brady. “I loved being your quarterback, and I’m with you every step of the way. You deserve this day. Congratulations.”
“I’m proud of you. I’m happy for you,” said Solder. “I hope you and Mackenzie have a wonderful rest your life outside of football and do the things you’ve been wanting to do that aren’t football-related. Maybe you’ll get bad in coaching or whatever, but whatever you do is going to be excellent because you’re an excellent man. I’m proud of you. I love you, and I’m so thankful for you. Congratulations, my friend.”
“What a heck of a career, man,” said White. “Straight underdog, tough, dependable, leader. So glad I got to share the field with you, man. We have a lot of great moments, a lot of great memories from the practice field to winning multiple Super Bowls.”
“I just want to say congratulations on what has been a fantastic career,” said Slater. “You think about all the things that we were able to accomplish, it wouldn’t have happened without you. Your support, your love for your teammates, your toughness, your commitment, inspired everyone around you to be better. That is certainly worth celebrating.”
Those were just several of the long list of messages given to Andrews during the video, which he was definitely appreciative of.
“It was great. I didn’t know that was happening so that was really cool,” said Andrews. “A lot of those guys have either helped me, and been a part of my journey, whether it was coming in together. I lived with A.J. Derby in the Residence Inn Foxborough for our first whole rookie offseason and still have a great relationship with him. It’s great because, like I said, that’s what makes the game special is the relationships and getting to go out there and compete and go through something hard with someone else beside you, knowing you got his back, he’s got yours. I had a lot of success with a lot of those people.”
Health And His Love of New England Led to Decision
When the news initially came out about Andrews’ release, many questioned the decision by the team when it came to parting ways with such a tremendous leader. It felt like a tough move, but it sounds like it came down to the veteran’s health, coming off the injury he suffered last season.
Andrews essentially admitted as much as he spoke to the media, adding that his health and his desire to ultimately finish his career in New England are what led to him walking away from football.
“I wasn’t healthy,” explained Andrews. “Once I got away from the game, I obviously still wanted to play, but I didn’t want to go do it for another organization. That wasn’t really what I had in mind to finish my career. I wanted to finish it here, and I did.”
As for what he’ll miss the most, Andrews said being in the locker room with the guys and having those relationships is what will be the most difficult.
“There’s nothing like a locker room,” said Andrews. “You can’t recreate it. Like I said, when a group of guys come together and think less about themselves and more about a bigger goal or team, that’s something very special, and you really don’t find it in the world a lot of times. So, I think the relationships will be the hardest part. I think that’s what makes it so emotional is that side of it.”
For now, Andrews says he’ll focus on spending more time with his family, along with playing golf, which he said had been quite challenging. But for those who want to check in with him, you can find him on his podcast The Quick Snap with former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer.
He was asked whether he’d consider possibly coaching, which it didn’t sound like would be in his future. In the meantime, his goal now is to enjoy spending more time at home, and he’ll take his time figuring out what his future holds.
“It’s been a long, big part of my life, and I’d like to see what else is out there before I get into that and decide there,” said Andrews. “Like I said, you got these two young boys and being around them and carpooling them around and doing whatever needs to be done is kind of my main focus now and spending time with them and my wife and do things that I probably didn’t allow us to do during football.”
About Ian Logue
Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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