It appears more likely than not Patriots center David Andrews will not be able to play Sunday against the Raiders, and even beyond due to a broken right thumb.
According to reports, Andrews is trying to snap with his left hand, but it appears he will be forced to miss a few weeks.
Without an obvious backup on they roster, here are a few options to potentially fill in at center.
Hjalte Froholdt — The second-year player from Denmark played all over the line at Arkansas, so he does have some center experience, but he’s yet to play a single snap in the NFL since he spent all of last year on injured reserve. He seems like the most logical player on the active roster, but his lack of experience could be a concern.
Joe Thuney — Thuney has shown the ability to play center in a pinch, but the problem with moving him to the position is it would make two positions weaker, as someone would then need to replace him at left guard. Bill Belichick and Co. have shown over the years they prefer not to make two positions weaker in cases like this, so perhaps it won’t be Thuney.
James Ferentz — Ferentz is an outside the box option as he is currently on the practice squad, but the veteran could be elevated to the active roster for the game as part of the new rule for 2020, or signed to the active roster if Andrews were to go on injured reserve. He started a game for the team last year when Andrews was on IR and Ted Karras was injured. Even though wasn’t with the team over the summer, he does have a great deal of experience with the organization.
