Get to know Nick Leverett, who is taking over for David Andrews in New England
FOXBORO -- The Patriots lost the anchor of their offensive line on Wednesday, as longtime captain David Andrews has decided to undergo season-ending surgery on his injured shoulder. The Patriots will now turn to Nick Leverett at center for the rest of the 2024 season.
Leverett is the "next man up" in New England, tasked with not only filling the shoes of a player and locker-room leader of Andrews' caliber, but also leading an offensive line that has struggled to protect quarterback Jacoby Brissett throughout the first four weeks. Brissett has been running for his life on most draopbacks and has been sacked 15 times so far this season.
The Patriots could look to sign a veteran center at some point, but head coach Jerod Mayo said Wednesday that isn't in the cards at the moment. So that will leave Leverett, a converted guard, to snap the ball to Brissett in New England.
He believes that he's up to the challenge.
"One hundred percent. That's the first thing about it, believing in yourself," Leverett said Wednesday. "I followed great guys like David and Ryan Jensen [in Tampa Bay] and saw how they formulate and everything. I have confidence in myself."
"Now that he'll get more reps at practice, we expect him to get better every single day," Mayo said of his new starting center.
What to know about Nick Leverett
Leverett, 27, signed with the Patriots in the offseason after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played his college ball at NC Central (an FCS school) and Rice before joining the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
Leverett spent his first season on the Tampa Bay practice squad, though he was released in late January and not part of the team when the Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV. He re-signed with the Bucs a few days after that victory, and played in 16 games (including 10 starts) with Tampa over the last three seasons.
He signed with the Patriots over the offseason, and though he's played primarily at guard for most of his career, New England gave him a look at center. He struggled at the position during training camp and in the preseason, but ultimately went into the season as Andrews' top backup. (Jake Andrews was supposed to be the top backup, but was placed on season-ending IR after he suffered an injury during the offseason.)
At 6-foot-3 and 310 pounds, Leverett is slightly bigger than Andrews (6-2, 300 pounds). He took over for Andrews after just one series in New England's Week 4 loss to the 49ers, and had a decent game considering the situation. Leverett also played a few snaps at fullback in New England's Week 2 loss to Seattle, but you can probably rip that play out of the playbook going forward.
Leverett knows that he has some big shoes to fill, as Andrews has been a team captain for eight years and is viewed as one of the toughest players on the roster.
"Just keep it going and just do my job," he said Wednesday. "Just stay humble more than anything and do whatever it takes to win and push this team toward success."
Centers are in charge of calling out coverages to the quarterback and identifying the middle "Mike" linebacker on defense. Leverett said that he's been doing those things (not always audibly) even when he was playing guard or tackle.
"I think I'm a pretty smart guy, so even when I was playing guard and tackle early in my career I wanted to learn concepts," he said Wednesday.
He said it's now his job to "steer the ship" along the offensive line.
"All five guys need to be on the same page, rowing the boat," he said.
Leverett blocked for Tom Brady in Tampa Bay
The start of Leverett's career coincided with Tom Brady's time in Tampa Bay. While he didn't win a ring with Brady in 2020, Leverett learned a lot of valuable lessons playing with the seven-time Super Bowl champ. He started 10 games in 2022, which was Brady's final season in the NFL.
"It was 'older' Tom Brady and you didn't want him to get hurt. But you were also blocking for the GOAT," recalled Leverett. "It was an honor to block for him, honestly. Definitely something I'll cherish forever."
Leverett said that Brady yelled at him a lot more than Brissett has, though Brissett will also get vocal when he needs to. He also recalled how generous Brady was to his offensive linemen.
"I loved Christmas time," he said with a smile.
Nick Leverett's NFL career
Leverett has played 57 offensive snaps for the Patriots this season, and has a PFF grade of 63.4.
Last season, Leverett played only four snaps (all on special teams) over three games. He missed most of the year with a shoulder injury, while Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke handled things at guard for the Bucs.
Leverett had a PFF grade of 63.0 for the 2022 season and 71.0 as a pass blocker that year. He was flagged for just two penalties during the season, both of which were holds on the lineman.
Leverett is continuing Matthew Judon's pre-game tradition
Matthew Judon was a fan favorite in New England for a lot of reasons, but one was his pre-game game of catch with Patriots fans. With Judon traded to Atlanta before the season, someone else had to take the torch this year.
It was Leverett, though as he explained to A to Z Sports, he's always throwed the football with fans before games.
"For me, I know the type of platform I have. I know the type of platform we have. And I know the smallest thing, like throwing the ball to the kids will make their whole year," Leverett told Sophie Weller. "One thing about me, the work that I put in, I do it for the fans."
We'll get you ready for Patriots-Dolphins showdown Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay on WBZ-TV and streaming on CBSBoston.com! After the game, switch over to Patriots 5th Quarter on TV38 for full reaction and analysis.
