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Ted Karras Ready to Start for David Andrews

The New England Patriots won't have David Andrews for the foreseeable future, but Ted Karras is capable of filling in for the starting center.
Ted Karras

The New England Patriots suffered a major blow on Monday when David Andrews went to the hospital with blood clots in his lungs. The starting center has since been released from the hospital, but his season is still in jeopardy. At the very least, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe reports that Andrews is expected to miss a “significant” amount of time recovering from this ailment. Andrews is a top-10 center, but backup Ted Karras is more than capable of filling in during the 2019 season.

Ted Karras Capable of Stepping Up in Place of David Andrews

Ted Karras initially joined the Patriots as a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Despite his late-round pedigree, the Illinois product has played well when given the chance. Karras started the first game of his career in place of an injured Shaq Mason but spent the rest of his rookie season as a backup. Still, Karras was the first interior lineman off the bench and the offense didn’t miss a beat when he came on the field.

Karras has primarily played guard throughout his Patriots tenure, but he does have experience at center. Back in 2017, David Andrews missed two games due to injury in the middle of the season. In his absence, Karras filled in and did an admirable job outside of one bad snap. The former sixth-rounder held up as both a pass and run blocker, opening rushing lanes for Dion Lewis and keeping Tom Brady upright and healthy.

Karras has looked good in limited action, but he doesn’t need to be a star in order for the offense to stay productive. New England has arguably the NFL’s best guard tandem with Joe Thuney and Shaq Mason. These two are both top-10 players, with Mason having a strong claim for best guard in the league. Thuney and Mason are more than capable of carrying their weight in protection, meaning that the Patriots can scale back Karras’ responsibilities if necessary.

Some centers around the league are responsible for reading the defense and calling out the best blocking pattern to stop the opposing defense. Fortunately for Karras, Tom Brady handles that responsibility in New England. All Karras needs to do is snap the ball and block the man in front of him, and he’s more than capable of doing that.

Options Behind Karras

In a vacuum, the Patriots are equipped to handle one extended absence along the offensive line. However, New England doesn’t have the deepest bench at the moment. With Karras on the field, the top interior depth option is likely fourth-round rookie Hjalte Froholdt. Based on his preseason play, the rookie simply isn’t ready for the big stage yet. Froholdt hasn’t played with the top unit at any point and still gets overpowered on a regular basis. While he can obviously improve over time, nobody wants him protecting a 42-year old quarterback.

Additionally, Andrews’ absence indirectly affects New England’s tackle depth. Even before this news broke, the Patriots were precariously thin at tackle. Marcus Cannon is a solid starter and Isaiah Wynn looks capable, but there isn’t much behind these two. Yodny Cajuste is still on the NFI list and probably won’t be ready for the season. This leaves Dan Skipper as the primary backup, and he’s anything but an ideal starter.

If something happened to Wynn or Cannon, the Patriots could shift Joe Thuney out to left tackle. Thuney played tackle in college, and the Patriots have given Thuney tackle reps throughout training camp. Should this happen, New England would need to insert Froholdt at left guard.

Either way, the Patriots are one offensive line injury away from either Skipper or Froholdt becoming part of the starting offensive line. This isn’t ideal by any means, and New England should look into adding an extra body along the offensive line. New England has a plethora of draft picks in 2020 and could easily ship a late-round pick for a backup offensive lineman. Alternatively, they could just wait until league-wide roster cuts and grab a player for free.

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