FOXBORO — The release of longtime center David Andrews left a gaping leadership void within the Patriots’ offensive line.
Who will fill it? After hearing his introductory news conference, newly signed right tackle Morgan Moses sounds like a prime candidate.
“It’s been part of my DNA,” the 34-year-old said Thursday. “I had great vets when I came into the league, Trent Williams and guys like that, and one thing he always told me as a player coming up through this league, make sure you pass it down. And that’s been a part of me.”
Moses, who’s entering his 12th NFL season, joins an O-line comprised mostly of young players and roster-fringe types, save for the player expected to start next to him at right guard, Mike Onwenu. The Patriots cut Andrews, an eight-year team captain, on Thursday after he missed the final 13 games of last season with a shoulder injury.
Leaders, Moses believes, should strike a balance between guiding younger teammates and learning from them, which he sought to do last season with New York Jets first-round draft pick Olu Fashanu.
“When you’re competing, whether it’s in any facet of life, when you’re able to teach somebody and show them things and when you’re able to learn in that room, it makes everybody better because that guy behind you is getting better every day,” said Moses, who also had stints with Washington and Baltimore. “So you can’t be a complacent player and be that same person. You’ve got to show up every day and make yourself better. So when you have that mentality for a room, especially for an offensive line because we operate as one, five equals one. We never leave the field. …
“It’s very important for us to be able to work together, not even on the field but off the field, as well, getting to know each other, dinners and things like that. Because I truly believe if you don’t know your brothers off the field, how can you go to battle with them on the field? So bringing that mentality as an older guy in the locker room and just bringing guys along and showing them the way is going to be a great deal for us.”
Moses revisited the concept of “building of brotherhood” multiple times during his remarks. That’s what he wants New England’s wave of incoming free agents — including defensive tackle Milton Williams, linebacker Robert Spillane and cornerback Carlton Davis, who all spoke with reporters Thursday — to help establish as the Patriots enter the Vrabel era.
“You don’t need a miracle to win football games,” Moses said. “You just need the right people in the building. Obviously with Coach Vrabel here, we’ve got the right people. … Guys are going to get around these guys and we’re going to talk football, we’re going to talk IQ, we’re going to talk brotherhood, we’re going to learn about each other on the field and off the field, so when we get on the field, nothing that comes at us — no adversity that touches us on the field is going to be able to break us, because we’re going to have an unbelievable bond.
“So when we run out of that tunnel on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, you’re going to see something different. You’re going to feel something different because we’re going to go out there as one unit and we’re going to play football together.”
On the field, Moses should be the Patriots’ no-doubt starter at right tackle. He missed three games in each of the last two seasons but was hyper-durable before then, appearing in every game from 2015 through 2022 while playing more than 90% of offensive snaps.
New England still has major question marks at left tackle, left guard and center as it looks to rebuild a unit that ranked among the NFL’s worst in 2024. As of Thursday, Moses was the only O-lineman the Patriots had added this offseason.