CAN HEAR CLEARWATER CALLING
The Eagles, contrary to what one "league source" is saying, are not contemplating a trade that would send two-time Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews elsewhere.
A team source said that today after Philly.com's Eagleterian and ProFootballTalk.com apparently talked to the same source about this issue.
Furthermore, there is not an issue about Andrews' contract even though he is now making considerably less money than his big brother Stacy and the recently acquired Jason Peters, who was Shawn's teammate at Arkansas.
"He just wants to play ball," Andrews' agent Rich Moran said in a text today. "No contract issue that I know of Bob."
An Eagles source said he received that same message from Andrews during a recent conversation and Eagles president Joe Banner as recently as Sunday raved about how good the offensive line could potentially be with the additions of Stacy Andrews and Peters and the return of Shawn Andrews from a neck injury that kept him out most of last season.
While we're on the subject of contracts, however, I want to make a point that never seems to be made. Yes, it's true that players such as Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown sometimes sign contract extensions that can later seem less than the market value for a player of that caliber.
The feeling here is that's too bad. Brown is a good guy and a very good, dependable player, but he signed a deal and he has to live with it just like the average Joe who retired thinking he had plenty of good investments in the stock market now has to deal with the vast losses in recent years.
The other thing that has to be noted is that the team is also taking a risk when they give players huge signing bonuses early in their careers. Sometimes those moves backfire. For proof, see Todd Pinkston and Reggie Brown. Although Brown still has a chance to make that deal look good for the Eagles, so far it has been a bad investment for the team.
