Patriots release Andrews
One day after he was arrested for allegedly brandishing a gun at his girlfriend and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a high-capacity firearm, Willie Andrews has been released by the Patriots.
The arrest, which took place in Mansfield, was Andrews's second in five months. The defensive back was arrested in February in Lowell, after he was found to be in possession of approximately a half-pound of marijuana. He was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The case was continued without a finding on May 9 after he plead guilty to possession.
Andrews, 24, was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. In two seasons, he totaled one defensive tackle, 23 special teams tackles and returned four kickoffs for 149 yards.
Last year he played in 15 games and had eight special teams tackles and scored his first career touchdown, returning a kickoff 77 yards for a score in a 49-28 win over the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 21.
Andrews is alleged to have pointed the gun at his girfriend's head after the two became engaged in a domestic dispute at his Mansfield apartment.
The safety, who is being held without bail, will be in Attleborough District Court on Thursday for a dangerousness hearing.
In other news, the team also announced the signing of sixth-round draft pick Bo Ruud. The inside linebacker out of the University of Nebraska was the 197th overall pick in the NFL Draft. The 6-foot-3-inch, 235-pounder was a three-year starter at Nebraska, and finished his career with 216 total tackles and 4.5 sacks. He was a two-time, second-team All-Big 12 selection.
Stay classy, Boston...
I'm glad the Pats decided to Free Willie!! It's time.
This, no doubt, is good news for Matthew Slater.
Too bad Andrews couldn't stay out of trouble. I thought he might actually earn a larger roll for himself a year or two down the road.
Good release.A piece of ----- since his college days..Not a good character.Pats don't need him.
Sac, that the Pats are trying to set an example with Andrews.
Thank you Pats
Chris, fyi ... it's not "Attleborough." Attleboro officially dropped the "ugh" from its name when it incorporated as a city in 1914.
There is a lot that this Patriots team does well in terms of its management, citizenship and attitude, but there is way too much that it apparently does not do too well (regardless of whether one thinks there is vendetta against them by either the league or the national media.) Belichick's not releasing any information about injuries is at best disingenuous, his alleged playing of players on IR is a bit worse than disingenuous if true, and the recent signing of a lot of questionable-character draft picks and FA (Merryweather, Sauerbrun, and even Moss) is a bit disturbing. The way the Patriots celebrate, the fact that they didn't wear Sean Taylor's number on their uniforms for very long (albeit with a valid enough reason), the fact that they accidentally injured Losman, the late TD's in last season's games, Belichick's walking off the field with 2 seconds left in the SB--these are all to some extent excusable, but they don't send a great message of class and sportsmanship when pooled as a whole. And nothing I have yet mentioned is even related to that other bit of technologically-based trouble they found themselves in last year. It is good to see that the Patriots are doing the right thing in releasing this potentially valuable but irresponsible player. It reminds me of a less celebratory but possibly more pristine era when the team (rightfully) cut Christian Peter solely for his character problems.
The Cowboys have just picked up the rights to Mr. Andrews!!
well, that frees up a roster spot at least
Good riddance!
This is the second sudden release in less than 12 months. Last year's starting punter got kicked out for atrocious behavior weeks before the regular season began, and then Scott Pioli struggled to find a live body who could punt. Fortunately, the Pats didn't need to punt very often last season.
The Krafts mean what they say about violent behavior. Smoking pot is a considerably lesser offense.
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