In a lost season, David Andrews has been a shining light

We interrupt this season from hell to bring you good tidings from Foxborough, where, on Wednesday morning, the media presented David Andrews with the Ron Hobson Good Guy Award. This award has been voted on and handed out for many years to the player who respectfully fulfills his media obligations and does so with class and professionalism.

You may not care about the dynamics between player and media, and quite frankly, I'm using that as a jumping-off point to write about one of the most consistent and reliable pieces on a team - and roster - that has underwhelmed at nearly every turn.

"He's a true Patriot," said Bailey Zappe of Andrews. "I put him up with (Matthew) Slater and all those guys. He's a captain's captain. Anything you ever need on or off the field, you can always ask him questions. That's something he's done for me. ... He's just a great guy, a great football player."

"David is, first and foremost, a great person," said Slater. "I've learned so much from him. It's no secret this hasn't been the kind of year we expected, but it speaks so much about who he is and what he stands for. He is accountable to everyone - you guys, his teammates, the coaching staff - and, if possible, I think he's gotten even better as a leader this year. I can't say enough about him."

Before the season began, Bill Belichick showed the team pictures of Andrews (and Slater) on the overhead projector, citing them as the epitome of everything you want in a football player, teammate, and leader. That has been tested almost from the jump, and yet Andrews has been the first face we see postgame after every one of the 11 losses the team has suffered. It's an unenviable position and unfair. The first person who needs to face the music should be the head coach and architect of this mess, but when the door to the press conference room pops open, it's always number 60, who's the first to come through. A few weeks ago, after one of those depressing defeats - the 6-0 shutout against the Chargers - Andrews was asked how he was managing.

"Look, I mean, me personally -- I'm nine years into this thing, 31 years old. Like, I can't do this forever," he said. "And it's not like any other sport. You can go play pickup basketball; you don't play pickup football. So, you don't know how many opportunities you'll get to play this game - injuries, guys' health scares, whatever, outside health stuff. You just don't know what opportunities you're going to have. 

"So, for me, you get to go play this game and play with this group of guys. I think we have a lot of guys that look at the game like that, right? At the end of the day, you're playing for the respect of yourself, the respect of your team, the respect of this team, the organization. So there's a lot of reason to go out there and compete every week, and guys have different whys. Some guys play for whatever - money, fame, whatever it may be. Some guys play (because) they love the game. There's a little bit of all of that. But you always have something to play for. And if you're going out there without something to play for, it's probably time to move onto something else in life."

If Belichick - or any coach worth a damn - could inject that attitude and approach into their players, they would. Andrews gets it. But it goes beyond that. Despite being undersized and undrafted, the former University of Georgia product - who still proudly wears that "G" has been one of the Pats' best players. Andrews has started all 14 games not missing a snap, the only player on the roster that can claim that. He is one of the highest-graded performers week-in and week-out - not just by me and how I carve up the film, but by my boss, Greg Bedard, and by PFF (if you're into them). He's managed all this with a rookie to his right (Sidy Sow), a 2nd-year player and rookie to his left (Cole Strange and Atonio Mafi), and so many tackles that it's hard to know who's going to be there from snap to snap, let alone week to week.

Andrews, however, is the constant, and whoever is running this franchise next year would be wise to ensure he remains as such. Contractually, it makes sense. The 31-year-old is in year one of a four-year deal he signed this offseason. Per Spotrac, Andrews' cap hit this year is nearly $7 million and will only increase slightly to $7.4 million next year. If the contract remains untouched, he'll receive 5.5 million in cash in 2024, again, a more than manageable number for a player of his caliber. Considering the cap space the Pats will have and their needs elsewhere, moving on is illogical. Of course, I said the same thing about Jakobi Meyers, but I digress. 

"You know it's not always easy getting up to talk to y'all," said Andrews today when presented his award. "Obviously, you are a gateway to our fans, and it's important (for me) to do this because you're not only representing yourself, but you're representing the organization, the team..."

And doing it with grace, humility, and honesty.