New England Patriots starting center David Andrew missed the entire 2019 season after suffering a blood clot in his lungs. It was a scary situation for the veteran, as a health concern as severe as that put into question how his playing career would play out past 2019.

In January, Andrews gave an optimistic update about his recovery, saying that he feels great and after taking some tests in February that he should be back on track to a return to football.

According to Mike Reiss of ESPN on Sunday, Andrews received positive results on his tests in February and mentioned he was told Andrews feels like he is in “excellent condition physically”.

“Patriots starting center David Andrews had expressed optimism about returning to play in 2020 after missing last season because of blood clots in his lungs, and I'm told he continues to receive positive medical reports and feels like he is in excellent condition physically,” Reiss wrote. “When I caught up with Andrews in January, he noted he had some important tests in late February. My understanding is the plan is to continue taking a cautious approach -- there is no reason to rush things now -- but things appear to be trending in the direction Andrews wants them to go.”

This is great news. As a player that has been with the Patriots organization for five years now, everyone in New England and others that support Andrews have been hopeful that he would make a timely recovery from a scary situation. It looks like that is exactly what has happened. Though there is no definitive timetable as to when Andrews can resume football-related activities, it looks like that is right around the corner for him.

The Patriots are in jeopardy of losing center Ted Karras to free agency this offseason. Karras was New England’s starting center in place of Andrew last season and did a great job of filling that role. Because of that, he is in line for a big payday when he hits the market. If Andrews is able to return for the 2020 season, then the loss of Karras won’t be nearly as impactful.

Let’s hope that Andrews is 100% healthy and ready to return to his starting duties next season.