A day after defeating the New York Jets, the New England Patriots received a bit of good news on Monday.

Starting center David Andrews has a chance to return to game action later on in the season or in the playoffs, should the Patriots make it, after suffering a thigh injury on Sunday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Monday. It was initially reported following Sunday's game that Andrews' injury could end his season and that the Patriots feared bad news prior to getting the ailment tested on Monday. Rapoport noted that Andrews' return isn't a guarantee, but there is some hope he can see the field against this season.

Patriots radio announcer Scott Zolak was even more optimistic about Andrews' potential return. He said on 98.5 The Sports Hub's “Zolak and Bertrand” that “I think Andrews might be back quicker than people think.”

Zolak added that “I wouldn't rule him out for Thursday” against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Patriots didn't practice Monday ahead of their game against the Vikings on Thursday, but if they did, Andrews would've been a non-participant.

Sunday was Andrews' first game in the lineup since Week 7, when he suffered a concussion in the loss to the Chicago Bears. In the two games Andrews missed, the Patriots allowed 10 sacks as the Jets and Indianapolis Colts were able to get consistent pressure in the interior. New England gave up six sacks in Sunday's game, which Andrews left late in the first quarter.

Despite the Patriots offensive line's poor play without Andrews, quarterback Mac Jones has confidence in backup center James Ferentz and the rest of the unit.

“I think David is a great player, great teammate, great leader. Definitely tough,” Jones said following Sunday's game. “But I think James does a great job when he's in there. He's a very smart football player, plays with a lot of effort. Obviously, you're going to have to shuffle some guys around. We had some injuries again. But that's football.

“Those guys are fighting every play, so that's all you can ask for is their attitude and their effort, and I'm pleased with that group, and we just want to score more points and get through that fringe area, and the story might be a little bit different.”

If David Andrews is placed on injured reserve, he'll be forced to miss at least four games, which would rule him out for matchups against the Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, and Las Vegas Raiders in addition to Thursday's game against the Vikings.