Eagles release Shawn Andrews
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Eagles release Shawn Andrews
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Eagles have released offensive lineman Shawn Andrews, the team announced today.
"We appreciate the efforts and contributions of Shawn while he was here," coach Andy Reid said in a statement. "We have, however, decided to move in another direction."
Andrews, who has been in Southern California rehabbing his back, wrote on his Twitter account, "Bye, Bye Birds ......" He also wrote that he plans on continuing to play football.
The release of Andrews closes the book on one of the more turbulent chapters in Reid's tenure with the Eagles. In six seasons, Andrews went from first-round draft pick to Pro Bowl guard to incognito. Two years ago, he publicly battled with depression and since then he has hardly played as he's dealt with back issues.
There wasn't much science behind the release, according to team sources. It was just time to move on.
Andrews also wrote on Twitter, "ANDY REID!!! Respekt!!!!!!!"
Andrews has used Twitter to openly write about all phases of his life, but he has, on several occassions, used the Internet forum to express his respect for Reid and how he's handled his situation. He also wrote today:
-- "Todays theme song: "Take These Broken Wings" Learn to Fly again learn to just soar free"
-- "It doesn't hurt as bad when u expekt the un expekted! GOD knows what he's doing... Chuuuuch"
-- "Still "finna" have a kick butt therapy session..People told me I would be a pro ball player, & they also say I cant be a successful Comedian"
He played in the first two games of the 2008 season, but lower back issues forced him to the sideline and eventually under the knife. He arrived for training camp this past July seemingly in good spirits. But on the first day of camp he tweaked his back during a conditioning run and was back on the sidelines. He returned at one point, but never played in a preseason game. After the first game of the season, the Eagles placed him on Injured Reserve.
The 27-year-old Andrews had a second back surgery in October and has spent the last several months recovering outside Los Angeles. A week after the Eagles restructured the contract for his older brother Stacy, however, the Eagles decided to part ways with their former top pick.
"I love my brother," Stacy Andrews wrote in a text message to The Inquirer. "It's a sad day for me. I wanted to play beside my brother in the National Football League. But I know he's working his tail off and he will be back."
Shawn Andrews was slated to earn $2.45 million in salary this coming season.
In the 2004 draft, the Eagles moved up to draft Andrews, a massive tackle out of Arkansas. He had ballooned up to near 400 pounds that offseason, but said it was because his mother had lost her job. He dropped the weight that summer and won the starting right guard spot during camp. He fractured his right fibula in the first game, however, and was lost for the season.
Andrews came back, though, and by 2006 had become one of the best guards in the NFL. He reached the Pro Bowl for the second straight year in 2007, but that would be the peak of his Eagles career.
When training camp commenced in 2008, Andrews was a no-show. Eventually, he said that he was absent because of issues related to depression. The Eagles welcomed him back, but the road got only weirder. Andrews began holding long interview sessions in front of his locker. Sometimes he had a mohawk, other times the mohawk was painted orange.
After missing most of the 2008 season, he returned for minicamp in April, 2009. He admitted to the New York Times, however, that he was still on medication and that he was worried about his health. He was always singing in the locker room and made several YouTube videos. He has said before that he wants to have a career in the music industry.
The long, rambling interviews outside his locker stall continued until he was placed on IR last Septemeber and was jettisoned to California.
He's not coming back to Philadelphia now.
Its about time..........— rtaylor1220- Talk about a waste of talent. This guy could have had an amazing career if he wasn't such a mental case.— ChrisM
- No more "Sisters" jokes?— DerbyBound
- Thats a real nice surprise— dipdabear
- FINALLY! The breakup of Andrews Sisters on the OL is as proud a day as the breakup of the QB debacle with Goebel, Kemp and co. KING~out— the~KING
- I bet this means they will draft an O-lineman in the first round. Watch— traugdog420
- Now he can get back to gettin' his Michael Phelps on.— cgrock
- Finally / / it's over . . the andrew's sister's . . . they can't hurt us any more . . .— ingy9
i dont see whats the point of releasing him now. i wouldve saw if his back was better 1st before releasing him. say what you want about him and i do beleive that he is a clown, but when healthy, he is an all pro talent.- I don't really see the point of cutting him now. Might as well have waited until Training Camp. He already lost RT to Justice and G to Stacy and Nick Cole. He would have to fight for his job.Like him or not, when he is healthy he is the by far the best G in football.— PHTNPHLS
- ironic to say back with more— sasquatches
Yay!- I guess he gonna get his Michael Phelps on now...— feudi
Comment removed.- When a "back specialist" fails, twice, is he still a "specialist"? Listen up, never go to an orthopedic surgeon for back surgery. What you want is a neurosurgeon. The difference in success rate is 25% vs. 95%. PLUS, the best ones are right here in the Northeast. Thanks a lot, Rick Burkblunder, team trainer, this ones on YOU!!!— mccloudmj
- Out for two years.........still a headcase and a bad back.......no one is gonna sign him.— rtaylor1220
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- Good riddance!!!— Fitzy31
- He had the one truly great season, Westbrook's too, that Garcia year. He was a bowling bowl among pin heads.— playboy
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- It does not suprise me that this happened...the birds are making room for a high draft pick in the OL.— jss31
- My guess is that since they could release him with no cap hit they just went for it. No point in getting into camp, having him hurt it again, then having to pay him to sit on IR for another year. It's such a shame though, he was ridiculous when healthy.— sg021
- The Eagles are dumping Salary. Westbrook, Brown, Clemons, and now Andrews. Send Joe and Howie to Washington, they will have the economy back on track in less than a year.— CrashTestCorzine
- Maybe he will actually be motivated to play now that he doesn't get paid unless he passes a physical and makes a team. Maybe if he can do that he will agree to sign with us for a year to play with his brother.— swinger18
- just another complete tool who will be boooed in philly for the rest of his life.— drumminge6
- he is not the best G in football. not even close. he's played 2 games in 2+ years! he was one of the better guards in football 4 years ago, doesn't mean he STILL is. in fact, i can say with confidence that if he ever plays again (which is unlikely), he will never make another pro bowl again.
- The Eagles figure that if he ever wants to play again, he'll likely want to play with his brother and his bud Jason Peters. They will just wait it out and see...and get him back for much less money. In the meantime, with next year's tough schedule, and this o line, I'd hate to be the QB.
- mccloudmj...actually most of the best ortho specialists are in the south...— crohnkiller
- I agree with PHTNPHLS. THe timing and release makes no sense unless they are planning on signing someone or they got more bad news on his injuries.— WWW.WEEMSWEAR.COM
So glad they passed on running back Jackson to take this guy. Fire Andy Reid. He is a terrible person, lousy dad, and a crummy coach.- A St. Patty's Day gift!— barefoot
- good thing they put him on IR last year
- but wait...last year they brought in his college buddy and his brother for support...errr..cause they needed them! Now what do they do with them?
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- Cool now cut the Fat mans other WASTED PICK, KLOB, and everything will get a little better....— DonovanistheEaglesallTimeGreatestPlayer
- Only one more overpaid, under performing, failed Andy Reid experiment veteran clown to get off the roster. That will be the day the Eagles officially provide me with new hope of the future.— Voytas
- Come on Mccloud...he doesn't need a nuerosurgeon, he needs a psychiatrist....the kid's a head case.— rcastigs
- You folks need to let the whole Michael Phelps reference go.
- Who cares about this nit wit?— eneven
- As the OL stands right now: (from L to R), Peters, Herremans, ? @ C, Cole/Stacy Andrews, Justice. I am fine with Peters & Herremans, but the 3 other positions need to be challenged and/or upgraded. At C, relying on Jackson to be healthy all year or Cole to improve is too risky, because we saw how disrupted the offense was when Dallas abused the interior of our OL last year. That needs to be the 1st position addressed, and Pouncey could be that guy. He is rather athletic and above average at calling out blocking assignments, and a guy who could grow into a Pro Bowler. RG could be Stacy Andrews, if he is healthy and learns both the system and Castillo’s techniques, but that is far from being a certainty. I think Justice is adequate at RT for right now, and could continue to improve as he still has some areas of opportunity there, but camp competition is healthy and could push him even farther into his progression. Can any of the backups contribute? Great question, but if they could, then they probably would have by now, so how much can you rely on them?— The Reddgie
- Let the beasting begin.— Captain Splendor
- The guy 'supposedly' got hurt while JOGGING. And he was done for the year. Face it people, he wasn't injured and was just being lazy and banking his money. Well, you got paid Shawn - you must be very proud. Between all the injuries, so-called depression, outlandish behavior, the big-money contract, the obesity/out-of-shape issues, the distractions, etc .... Good riddance to a total idiot.— Tacklebury
- Million dollar body,ten cent head...what a waste— t4tuck
- I told Reid to cut this bozo last year. It was quite evident that he had no interest in playing football. However he wanted to get paid so he fabricated bogus illnesses which could not be proven false. Reid has to look for lineman that really want to go to war every week like the Giants do. He's bringing in too many softies(see Stacy Andrews).— Shenkman3
- He got the lyrics to "Broken Wings" wrong.— tsmagnum73
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another bust in the books..- mccloudmj...you're an idiot!— PocketAces
- Somebody needs to tell Shawn that it's Chooooooch not Chuuuuch......Carlos Ruiz would be disappointed in him.....
- Was Andrews depressed (which is quite common) or was this guy freakin CRAZY???— cakes77
- YES YES YES!! Finally the eagles woke up, now to show the door to McBOZO & KILLER, especially before BOZO rips up or breaks something in his & TO's JOE's VERSES PRO's taping.— jwatson
- you haters really must lead sad lives! let one of yall hurt your back and have surgery and see how he feels. yall lead sad lives. jealous lives....seems like yall the ones that are chumps. talking big time hate at your desk at work or from home. shouldnt yall be working. Andrews was the best guard in the league when healthy. he will be back at the top of his game watch......when he was pro bowl yall rode his jock but kick him when he's down. yall are very sad people...— jigga
- Wow, it's finally over. I'd understand if it were just depression and the back, but the Tweets have me thinking this guy's really loony. Sounds like he'll never play again.— p-diddy
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- Just to play devil's advocate for a moment, how can anyone claim that he "faked" his injury? You don't require back surgery for fake injuries. Yes, he has a lot of emotional baggage, but saying that he faked his injury just doesn't square with what actually happened.— Ltown215
- Shoulda waited til after the draft.— Nezhy
- Eagles 9-7 Wild Card team at best. Dallas is class of NFCEast— Nezhy
- i dont understand the use of past tense in this sentence from the article "Shawn Andrews was slated to earn $2.45 million in salary this coming season." was there some agreement that shawn would not take the salary for 2010 that he is entitled to?— zwarte piet
- he's a trainer not a psychiatrist. shawn was stealing money. good to cut the ties now. there's a job opening and let's see some competition for it but what a waste of talent.— notch44
- People need to lighten up. It's his back that was the problem not his head. I guess the Eagles didn't want a repeat of last year and wanted some stability going into training camp. I would have given him another chance given his upside. I have to believe that there is more than meets the eye with this release.
- Lazy. No drive. Imagine where he'd be without some football talent.
- The only thing I don't like about this move is its a guarantee Fat Andy is going to draft an O-line guy out of the first round. He won't even get any playing time till the 2012 season. Watch.— Philadelphiafreedom81
- Sean was simply not that motivated to play. I would have cut him last year except he got a doctor's excuse.— fmMD
- on a side note. I see QB's being traded all over the league. I guess the genius eagles front office thought everyone would be beating down their door for McNabb/Kolb/Vick. WRONG AGAIN EAGLES! I love it. dopes— ArtieLange
- I feel bad for him.— joe$
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- I have a bad feeling he is gonna return to the Pro Bowl with another team. I don`t mind The Birds getting rid of him, but they better do something to improve the line.— FaithInMcNabb
- He flunked his spelling test.— mick314
- The Eagles needed to keep 2.45 million in their purse, and don't expect them to use this money on anyone because they are selfish and all they care about is money. Notonly does shawn andrews stink, but this team stinks as well. I hope Dallas walks all over them both times they play each other this year.— djax10
A first class nut.— Morty Seinfeld- Shawn Andrews is to the Eagles as Chris Weber was to the 76ers.— zen
- he's a jerk and he been a jerk. A freaking loser. Making rap youtube videos and nonsense. He was a weight on us!— tmoore28
