FOXBORO – David Andrews thought he could get through it.
The former New England co-captain had prepared 10 minutes of remarks meant to sum up his football career and thank those who helped make him – an undersized, undrafted center – a two-time Super Bowl champion and pillar of the Patriots organization.
But seconds after he walked to the podium in his tucked-in button-down shirt, blue jeans and cowboy boots, hair and beard far more kempt than it was for most of his playing days, Andrews broke down. The same hand he used to snap to Tom Brady now covered his face as the tears flowed.
“Not the start (I wanted),” he joked.
Deep breath.
“All right, here we go.”
Andrews, who announced his retirement Monday after 10 NFL seasons, proceeded to retrace his unlikely football journey, expressing his gratitude to everyone from his youth football coaches, to the staff that developed him at the University of Georgia, to Bill Belichick. He thanked his agents and teammates. He was overcome by emotion as he saluted his wife, Mackenzie, and their two young sons, Ford and Worth.
“When I knew this day was coming, I was thinking about what I wanted to say,” a choked-up Andrews said. “As you can see, there’s a lot of emotions. 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.”
Andrews also thanked, simply, “the game of football,” adding: “If there’s any parents on the fence about letting your kids play this game, I promise you you won’t regret it. There is no better teacher of the game of life than the game of football.”
A handful of Andrews’ former teammates attended the ceremony, including current Patriots Mike Onwenu, Cole Strange, Hunter Henry and Rhamondre Stevenson and Pats alums James Develin and Rob Ninkovich. Mike Vrabel and most of his coaching staff also were on hand, as was a large contingent from the Patriots’ personnel department and Andrews’ longtime position coach, Patriots Hall of Famer Dante Scarnecchia.
Over a dozen more ex-teammates sent video messages congratulating Andrews, a compilation of which was played after opening comments from team owner Robert Kraft, who noted that Andrews is the only offensive lineman in franchise history to start Week 1 as an undrafted rookie. The full roster of virtual well-wishers: Brady, Joe Thuney, Shaq Mason, Marcus Cannon, Nate Solder, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Brian Hoyer, James White, Jarrett Stidham, AJ Derby, Devin McCourty, Matthew Slater, Duron Harmon, Jason McCourty, Lawrence Guy and Trey Flowers.
Though Andrews will miss the physicality of football, the inherent challenge of blocking 300-pound behemoths on a daily basis and the constant strive for greatness, especially in an organization as championship-focused as the Patriots, he said those personal bonds forged on the field and in the locker room are what he’ll cherish most.
“The Super Bowls, they’ll remain the same forever, but the relationships will mean more to you at the end of the day than the rings and trophies and all of that,” said Andrews, a team captain in eight of his 10 Patriots seasons. “That’s got to be the biggest gift. I’ve got lifelong friends, guys I know I can call on when I need something, and that’s the most important thing at the end of the day.”
His message to those he played with: “I hope each and every one of you know when I stepped on the field, I gave everything I had.”
Andrews’ Patriots tenure officially ended three months earlier when the team released him as part of a Vrabel-led roster revamp that also included the departures of veteran mainstays Jonathan Jones, Deatrich Wise, Ja’Whaun Bentley and Joe Cardona. The 32-year-old was noncommittal about his future at the time, but he ultimately chose – after conferring with several former teammates, particularly 2024 retiree Slater – to walk away from the game rather than attempt to start anew with a different team.
“I wasn’t healthy,” said Andrews, whose final season was cut short by shoulder surgery last October. “And 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.”
What’s next for Andrews? He’s not sure. He co-hosts a football-centric podcast with Hoyer. He’s tried taking up golf, an experience he described as finding “a new way to torture myself.” He might coach in the future, but not yet.
“I don’t think coaching is something I’m ready to get into right now,” he said. “Like I said, (football has) 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. I’ve got these two young boys, and being around them, carpooling them around and doing whatever needs to be done is kind of my main focus now. Spending time with them and my wife and do things that I probably didn’t allow us to do during football.”
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