The New England Patriots were bracing for the worst when it came to David Andrews this season. According to Field Yates of ESPN, New England has placed Andrews on injured reserve, effectively ending his season.

Recently, Andrews suffered a scare off of the field when he discovered that he had blood clots in his lungs. The Patriots starting center was hospitalized but was released prior to the team's preseason finale on Thursday.

The veteran center also took to Instagram to discuss his situation, saying that he will do everything to eventually make his return to the football field.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B12CAO6gbHB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

New England knew that there was a probable chance the fifth-year center was going to miss the 2019 season. Andrews has started at center for New England in the past four seasons, helping the team win two Super Bowls.

As a result of his unfortunate health scare, the Patriots traded for center Russell Bodine from the Buffalo Bills. Bodine has plenty of experience on the offensive line with the Cincinnati Bengals and Bills. The newly-acquired center began his career with the Bengals where he started in 64 straight games from 2014-2017. Bodine spent last season in Buffalo and started in 10 games as their center.

It doesn't seem to matter who the Patriots play on the offensive line; all their players up front seem to thrive under offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. The Patriots believe in the saying “next man up,” and will certainly need some players to step up in Andrews' absence.