For Patriots fans, David Andrews' retirement has air of finality to it
'One by one, our old friends are gone.'
— Johnny Ola, 'The Godfather Part II'
If the question ever comes up during Trivia Night at Winter Hill Brewing Company, Joe Cardona was the last active New England Patriot from the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. But in announcing in an April 29 news release that Cardona had been released, the Pats left out the important stuff, the stuff worth remembering.
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Such as Cardona's being the last remaining Patriot with a team-issued Super Bowl ring or two locked away in the family jewelry box.
Or that Cardona was the last Patriot with license to begin a story with, 'So one day Tom Brady and I walked into a bar, see, and …'
Yet that's exactly how it felt Monday when the Patriots held a news conference to announce the retirement of center David Andrews, though he was released from the Patriots on March 13, some six weeks before Cardona was cut loose. It's just that it would have been a tad awkward for the Patriots to hold a news conference that March morning. For one thing, Andrews was still an active player, free to sign with another team. You don't want to hold a party for a player you've just released and then wake up the next morning to find out he signed with the New York Jets.
Besides, talk about bad timing! It so happened that March 13, the Patriots held a news conference to unveil four free-agent additions: defensive tackle Milton Williams, cornerback Carlton Davis III, offensive lineman Morgan Moses and linebacker Robert Spillane. It was a day of out with the old and in with the new at Gillette Stadium, except that only the new got a news conference.
But, yes, Andrews has decided to retire. There will be no triumphant return to Gillette Stadium this season in a rival uniform. Brady returned as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Adam Vinatieri as an Indianapolis Colt, Willie McGinest as a Cleveland Brown, and so on. The next time Andrews returns to Gillette Stadium for a Pats game, it'll either be an outing with the family or in some public appearance capacity. The smart money has him clanging the bell in Robert Kraft's beloved end zone lighthouse in the run-up to New England's Sept. 7 season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Before reading the next sentence, please note that no disrespect is intended for Cardona and other holdover Patriots from the Super Bowl days who have moved on since the new coaching staff moved in, including cornerback Jonathan Jones, defensive end Deatrich Wise and linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley. But the Andrews news conference serves as a reminder, as if any Patriots fan needed one, how much has changed down Foxboro way.
Consider that the Andrews news conference included video tributes from teammates from the good old days, including Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Matthew Slater and, of course, ol' No. 12. It must have been impossible for any Pats fan to watch coverage of the news conference and not daydream.
One mean blocking machine.
For a decade, David Andrews defined what it meant to be a Patriot 👏 pic.twitter.com/G2qMbHMynG
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) June 3, 2025
Andrews was as solid a player as any team could hope for, even more so considering he was signed as a rookie free agent May 8, 2015, six days after the draft. I always like to look back on when a player signed with a team to measure how much, if any, media hoo-ha was attached to the news. With Andrews there was nothing. Just various 'Transactions' mentions that the Patriots had signed seven rookie free agents, including this David Andrews kid from Georgia, plus receiver Chris Harper of Vanderbilt, cornerback Eric Patterson of Ball State, defensive back Jimmy Jean of Alabama-Birmingham, and so on.
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Next thing you know, it's Week 1 and Andrews is the starting center because Bryan Stork was dealing with a concussion and neck injury. As the season rolled along, with the Pats off to a 7-0 start, the Andrews hoo-ha began — that is, as much hoo-ha as can be bestowed on a player who was an unknown during training camp. Such as this Nov. 3 Associated Press dispatch: 'David Andrews, the center who has played every snap of the 7-0 start, is an undrafted rookie free agent who carries his load like a veteran.'
And here we are, a decade later. Monday's news conference was about a retirement, sure, but it was also about preparing Andrews for his new role as a distinguished member of the New England Patriots Super Bowl Ring Club. These things matter with the Patriots, whose annual media guide used to include images of miniature Lombardi trophies with each player's bio to indicate how many Super Bowl-winning teams he's played on. It was two of them for Andrews — Super Bowl LI (the 28-3 game) and Super Bowl LIII.
.@dandrews61 announces his retirement from the New England Patriots. pic.twitter.com/Ly3oo1p1vL
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 2, 2025
That's why the Andrews presser had a sense of finality to it, not just for one player's career but for one team's two decades of dominance. It was like a high school reunion, and you know what happens at those things: Somebody brings along an old yearbook, which gets passed around while good times are being remembered and re-celebrated.
The yearbook then gets returned to the dusty bookshelf from whence it came. And everyone goes home.
Insofar as his playing career is concerned, David Andrews has gone home. As have Joe Cordona. Jonathan Jones, Deatrich Wise, Ja'Whaun Bentley …
This year, for the first time since 2001, the Patriots media guide will have no miniature Lombardi trophies next to the players' names.
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