New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel brought longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels back to the organization this offseason before the club officially parted ways with center and team captain David Andrews in March.
During a recent chat with Karen Guregian of MassLive, Patriots icon and current NFL analyst Devin McCourty shared why he thinks the club should’ve had Andrews work with second-year quarterback Drake Maye through at least late August.
“Even if Dave doesn’t make the roster at the end of training camp, I just think about the impact for Drake Maye and that offense, with all that Josh is installing,” McCourty explained. “To me, from April all the way until the end of August, seems like it would have been so valuable in having (Andrews). And even if another guy emerges as your center, that’s fine.”
Andrews underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in October before the Patriots made Maye their first-choice starter later that same month. Like McCourty, Andrews was with New England when 2021 first-round draft pick Mac Jones had to learn McDaniels’ terminology and “wordy offense” as a rookie. Jones earned a Pro Bowl nod for that season but never again enjoyed that type of success after McDaniels left the Patriots to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in January 2022.
“Josh’s system is a lot,” McCourty continued. “Like Mac Jones was in that d— building from 2:30 to 11 o’clock at night as a rookie. I think it helped him a lot having a guy (Andrews) who could handle all of the protections and all of those things without him really being involved to an extent. I think that would have helped Drake. It just seems like the team could have benefitted.”
McCourty added that the Patriots always could’ve released Andrews after New England’s final preseason contest if it was clear at that time the 32-year-old could no longer get the job done during meaningful games.
While Maye is used to not having Andrews as his center, one wonders if Vrabel and Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf will ultimately regret not keeping Andrews around if Maye is overwhelmed learning a new offense for the second time in his pro career.
