Patriots placing David Andrews, Derek Rivers on injured reserve

The 2019 season will end before it could begin for David Andrews and Derek Rivers.

As reported by ESPN’s Mike Reiss and Field Yates, the New England Patriots have placed both the starting center and third-year edge defender on injured reserve.

In order to be eligible to return, a player must be placed on IR after 4 p.m. ET on Sept. 1.

Treatment for the blood clot in Andrews’ lungs will keep the team captain from playing this fall. Andrews has started 57 games in his regular-season career since arriving as an undrafted free agent in 2015. The Georgia product has made an additional nine starts in the postseason, including two that netted Super Bowl victories. Andrews was spotted alongside his teammates on the sideline during Thursday night’s preseason finale.

Rivers, the Patriots’ top pick in the 2017 draft, missed all of his rookie season due to a torn ACL. The former Youngstown State standout returned to play in six games last campaign, recording one sack and two tackles. Rivers had exited New England’s Aug. 17 preseason game against the Tennessee Titans. He did not play in subsequent meetings with the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants.

New England is also placing wide receiver Cameron Meredith on reserve-physically unable to perform, as Yates first shared.

Meredith signed in early August and did not practice while on the active-PUP list. The ex-Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints wideout, who went arthroscopic knee surgery in 2018 and missed all of 2017, is eligible to be greenlit for the 53-man roster after six games.