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3 Patriots Rookies Already on Thin Ice After Their First Season

While some first-year players excelled in 2023, these three New England Patriots rookies have found themselves on thin ice this offseason.

By Devon Platana

Chad Ryland is one of three Patriots rookies who are on thin ice after his first season.
Chad Ryland is one of three Patriots rookies who are on thin ice after his first season. / Kevin R. Wexler / USA TODAY NETWORK
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2. Jake Andrews, C/G

There was a decent amount of hype surrounding Jake Andrews heading into his first NFL season. The Patriots used the 107th overall selection to draft the Troy product after a strong 2022 campaign that saw him named first-team All-Sun Belt.

Andrews was decent during the preseason, going 106 offensive snaps without allowing a sack and only one pressure. Even if it wasn't an elite showing, Patriots fans assumed it'd be enough to result in some playing time once the regular season rolled around.

Instead, the 24-year-old blocker barely saw any playing time under now-ex-head coach Bill Belichick. Although Andrews appeared in 16 games (1 start), he was limited to just 70 snaps on offense (7%) and another 50 on special teams (11%).

On one hand, that's more playing time than a lot of rookies saw. On the other hand, it's fairly disappointing that Andrews — who can play both center and guard — couldn't earn more opportunities given that pretty much every offensive lineman outside of David Andrews missed a significant amount of time.

According to Spotrac, four Patriots O-linemen are due to hit free agency this offseason. If the majority of the group returns, I have a tough time imagining Andrews seeing much more playing time this fall.

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