Shawn Andrews placed on injured reserve
Shawn Andrews' season is over and his career could be in jeopardy, too.
Shawn Andrews placed on injured reserve
Bob Brookover
Shawn Andrews' season is over and his career could be in jeopardy, too.
The Eagles placed the two-time Pro Bowl guard on injured reserve this morning, which also cleared a roster spot for quarterback Jeff Garcia, who the team officially signed today.
"It's disappointing to lose any player for the entire season, but we have full confidence in the other linemen we have on this roster to help this team succeed," coach Andy Reid said in a statement. "We wish Shawn all the best as he recovers and rehabilitates from this injury."
Andrews' season-ending back injury means that Winston Justice will be the team's right tackle for the second straight week and probably for the remainder of the season. The Eagles, according to a team source, were so pleased with Justice's opening-day performance against the Carolina Panthers that they do not feel the need to bring back veteran free agent Jon Runyan, who worked last week at the NovaCare Complex.
Runyan has also had workouts with Kansas City and Buffalo, but he remains unsigned.
The team source said the Eagles have some real concerns about Andrews' future because this is the second straight season that a back injury has sidelined him.
Andrews injured his back in Week 2 last season at Dallas and eventually underwent surgery by Dr. Robert Watkins in Southern California.
After an extensive offseason rehab, Andrews did not have any problems during the Eagles' spring camps at the NovaCare Complex. He arrived at Lehigh University for the start of training camp in good spirits and seemingly in great shape, but shortly after the team's conditioning test run his back stiffened at a team meeting.
He missed the remainder of training camp at Lehigh and eventually made another visit to Watkins in Southern California, where he received two injections to relieve the pain. Watkins told Andrews there was no structural damage to his back, but Andrews returned to practice for the first time Aug. 29 and it appeared as if he was going to be ready for the start of the season.
That changed after Wednesday's practice last week when he again complained of pain. Runyan visited the following day and Justice lined up at right tackle with the first-team offense. After starting all four games in the preseason, Justice made his second career start and first at right tackle against Carolina.
Now, Justice has a job he could keep for a long time and there is plenty of reason to wonder if Andrews' football career is over.
An injury doesn't have to be physical.— mfecani- BUST with a mohawk.— bcmojo
Comment removed.- Someone needs to go see the Wizard because the Tin man needs a heart— kingback
- Get John Runyan and drop Rggie Brown (finally!) to make room for him on the roster. PLEASE!!!!— truthfirst
- JOHN RUNYAN JOHN RUNYAN JOHN RUNYAN Where are You?— Nesta Nic
- Injured players cannot be released. Once he gets cleared by the doctors, i would look to release him and then seek relief by suing for a return of the signing bonus. Such a waste of talent. Runyan played with a cracked tailbone one year and a shredded knee the next, never missed a game. Sean needed to man up, but opted not.— delcorules
- Biggest disappointment in Philly sports history...loser.— phillyfan#1
- You are all missing the silver lining in this. Now they don't have to trade Baskett to make the roster spot for Garcia. That mean KENDRA stays in Philly !!!— perkgolf
- When he broke his leg in his rookie season, that was it for him. He's clearly afraid of getting hurt like that again. Cut him loose!!— joeibt
- No Heart??...more like no balls!— SkipinWV
- Don't be so quick to give up on him. Back injuries are notoriously difficult to rehabilitate.— Nova
- Reid screwed this up. Should have PUP'd him when he wasn't healthy enough to play in preseason. Now they've lost a pro-bowl talent for the year.— swash1
- Fat Turd.— MTbelly
- SAD........a back injury, a head case and a maturity level of a 3 year old....what a waste of talent....Maybe this season he gets his head togher....Maybe......What a waste of talent....sad— nuggett
