David Andrews' season-ending injury means one thing for Patriots 2024 season

The 2024 season has been an unlucky one for most teams throughout the NFL when it comes to players suffering long-term injuries; unfortunately, the Patriots have joined that long list.

It began in the offseason with the news that Christian Barmore was dealing with blood clots that would keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future. Ja'Whaun Bentley eventually joined him after tearing his pectoral in Week 2, making for another significant blow to their defense.

Countless other injuries have piled up since then, especially on the offensive line, which has dramatically impacted the offense's performance through the first four games. They were already thin on the depth chart in many areas and have only gotten thinner as more players go down with various injuries.

After the Week 4 loss to the 49ers, in which three players left mid-game, the Patriots have learned they are losing perhaps their most important player yet, with the latest update regarding David Andrews' shoulder injury. The starting center will reportedly undergo surgery to repair the damage and will likely be placed on injured reserve, ending his season prematurely.

It's another massive blow to an already depleted offensive line, having just started their fourth left tackle of the season last Sunday, and now they'll be losing their best player of the group. The backup options they worked with during the summer didn't look promising, as they continued to turn the ball over, and now that's the reality they'll have to face in the immediate future.

All of this bad luck seems to mean one thing for the Patriots' 2024 season: It's over before it begins.

The Patriots weren't expected to be great this season, but things just got a lot worse

Although there wasn't much optimism that the Patriots were going to be incredibly successful this year due to the massive changes made to the coaching staff and roster, the lengthy list of significant injuries to some of their best players ended the season before it could have even begun.

Going into the season opener already down, one of their best defensive players (Barmore) seemed bad enough, only for others to join him on IR or deal with injuries that will keep them off the field for several weeks. It essentially set them up to have an even worse season than anyone could have predicted, and it's only gotten worse as the weeks have passed.

The loss of Andrews impacts the offense as if the questionable offensive line wasn't already concerning. It was already worrisome with Chukwuma Okorafor abruptly leaving the team after being benched in Week 1 and the various backups they had to use in his place, then suffering injuries to make the roster even thinner.

The chances now that they'll be able to squeak out some more wins, especially as their schedule gets a little bit easier over the next few weeks, feels like an impossible task with Andrews out. Jacoby Brissett is already spending more time on the ground than he can throw the football, and it looks like that will only get worse with the loss of one of the best protectors.

Maybe they'll prove to be more competent than the initial feeling upon hearing the devastating news, but they haven't given fans much to believe in thus far, so it's difficult to have any optimism about the rest of the season.

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