Former Patriots star: David Andrews is bigger loss than Rob Gronkowski

Rodney Harrison starred for the New England Patriots from 2003-08, earning two Super Bowl titles in the process.

A potential future Hall of Famer, the current analyst knows what makes New England great.

In talking about two big losses that the Patriots suffered this past offseason, Harrison had a rather interesting take.

Rodney Harrison says on NBC pregame show that David Andrews is a bigger loss for the Patriots than Gronk. I'm not sure how to quantify a tight end vs. a center, but Andrews' loss is a big one

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) September 5, 2019

While this seems to be a bit ridiculous on the surface, there is some merit to it.

Andrews was just placed on injured reserve with a scary health issue. He’s acted as Tom Brady’s starting center for each of the past four seasons. It’s hard to explain that quarterback, center relationship.

Sure Gronkowski’s retirement has made a ton of headlines. However, the loss of Andrews forced New England to make a multitude of trades ahead of Week 1 to stabilize its offensive line.

We’re highly intrigued to see how Brady navigates through the 2019 season without these two key cogs as he looks to win a seventh Lombardi.