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          NFL Free Agency

          Sources: Patriots sign C David Andrews to 1-year extension

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterMay 16, 2024, 05:52 PM
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed starting center David Andrews, a seven-time team captain, to a one-year contract extension that includes $8 million fully guaranteed, league sources told ESPN on Thursday.

          Andrews was entering the final year of his contract and scheduled to earn a base salary of $4.5 million. Under the new deal, Andrews will earn a base value of $12 million over the next two seasons, with a maximum value of $13 million, a source told ESPN's Field Yates.

          Andrews, 31, is one of the oldest starting centers in the NFL and recognized by teammates as a pillar in the locker room.

          "He's a staple in the Patriot Way. When I think about the culture, he is that," veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett said Thursday, shortly after news of the extension broke. "He's a worker and a guy that has fought throughout his career to get to where he is now. I think a lot of players on our team can look up to him."

          Andrews made the roster in 2015 as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Georgia, as former New England coach Bill Belichick had personally worked him out before the draft.

          He was part of two Super Bowl championship teams and has played in 120 career regular-season games, with 118 starts. Andrews has also appeared in 12 postseason games (10 starts).

          After the Patriots' 4-13 season in 2023, in which Andrews was often the first member of the organization to answer questions from reporters after gut-wrenching losses, he took time to assess his future.

          "It was a long year and a lot to take in, with the new change [in coaches from Belichick to Jerod Mayo]. It's not about loving the game; I'll be 65 and still loving the game. It was just making sure I can still do all the things I need to do to prepare and be ready to go on Sunday," Andrews said last week. "I got away, spent time with my family, and that desire was still down in there."

          The Patriots, who selected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye third overall in the NFL draft, are in the midst of a rebuilding phase -- something that Andrews noted also intrigued him.

          "I was very excited to be part of something new, a change, and hopefully trying to figure it out and start something good," he said.