Thumb fracture sidelines Andrews
Thumb fracture sidelines Andrews
The center of the Patriots offense is broken.
David Andrews’ right thumb is fractured, in the process cracking one of the NFL’s best offensive lines down the middle. After undergoing surgery this week, Andrews will be inactive for Sunday’s game against the Raiders and could miss more. He was spotted with a heavy cast around his thumb and wrist at the team’s past two practices.
Wearing the cast, Andrews attempted, at times unsuccessfully, to snap left-handed on Thursday. On Friday afternoon, the Pats waved a white flag for him by posting their final injury report of the week.
It’s unclear exactly when or how Andrews broke his thumb, given he played every snap at Seattle last weekend. What is obvious is the Patriots are worse without him.
“He’s the piece that holds it all together as the center. He’s the captain,” Pats left tackle Isaiah Wynn said this week. “With all his knowledge, he’s very reliable. When we don’t know something, he knows the answer to it. Just him being the key piece has been helpful and great.”
But how much worse, exactly?
That should largely depend on Hjalte Froholdt, a second-year lineman who served as the team’s backup center in training camp. Froholdt spent his rookie season on injured reserve after recording four holding penalties over his first preseason. A fourth-round pick out of Arkansas, Froholdt rated as one of the best pass-blocking interior linemen in college football.
Oddly enough, his run blocking outshined his pass protection during the 2019 preseason. But run or pass Sunday, should he start, everything must begin with a
clean snap.
“It’s like the most important kind of transaction involved offensively for us — to make sure we have a great snap,” Pats quarterback Cam Newton said this week. “Whether it’s Dave, whether it’s whoever.”
Pre-snap, communication with Newton and his fellow linemen will be critical for whomever starts in Andrews’ place. The Raiders, who don’t blitz often, employ a zoneheavy scheme that will occasionally drop linemen into coverage and replace them with rushing safeties or linebackers from various spots on third downs; the type of pressures that can confuse a young center.
This season, Froholdt has been limited to nine special teams snaps. Two summers ago, he split more than 200 preseason snaps between left and right guard.
If the Pats pass Froholdt over, practice-squad center James Ferentz could get the call. Both of his career starts came late last season, one at right guard and another at center. The 31-year-old journeyman signed two weeks ago, and teams are permitted to call up two practicesquad players to the active roster on game days.
The emergency alternative is to slide left guard Joe Thuney over to center and fill his spot with either Ferentz, Froholdt or rookie Michael Onwenu. Though to date, Onwenu has taken all of his regular-season snaps at right tackle or tight end in jumbo sets, new positions for a career college guard. Thuney saw infrequent snaps at center during training camp.
Whomever replaces Andrews, their head-to-head matchup won’t be easy. Raiders defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, a Massachusetts native, has already notched a sack, plus two QB hits this season. Pats coach Bill Belichick described the challenge of blocking the undersized, yet explosive Hurst.
“It’s not the kind of guy that they’re used to blocking. Sometimes that takes some adjustment and getting used to, depending on the player’s experience and the physical qualities that the offensive lineman has, as well, in the matchup. He’s a little bit different,” Belichick said of the 6-foot-1 Hurst. “But I wouldn’t say that affects his ability to be disruptive or to be effective.”
Next to Hurst, the Raiders often deploy fellow defensive tackles Maliek Collins or Jonathan Hankins. Like Hurst, Collins owns three pressures on the season, while Hankins ranks among the NFL’s best run stuffers through two weeks. None of the three figure to overwhelm the Patriots line, though they could certainly cause problems for a first-time center.
Had Andrews played, the Pats likely would have enjoyed an appreciable advantage in the trenches. Now, uncertainty looms in the middle of their operation without the heart of their offense.
“He’s a stud on and off the field,” Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman said of Andrews. “You don’t ever have to worry about anything. He’s always gonna have the job done, and he’s a big part of this team.”