As the once-promising career of Eagles offensive lineman Shawn Andrews continues to be on hold, word has emerged that Andrews could be facing another surgical procedure on his back.
Last season, Andrews was injured in Week Two, and he didn’t play again.
This year, he suffered a couple of training-camp setbacks and eventually landed on injured reserve without making a single appearance in the preseason or the regular season.
On Friday, coach Andy Reid discussed the situation.
“He is going to get a second opinion,” Reid said. “He’s going to go down to Dallas and meet with a doctor down there. I guess it will be a third [opinion] because the doctor he is with now is the second opinion and this will be the third opinion. He just hasn’t made progress from the rehab and it’s not from a lack of effort. He’s been very diligent with it and working his tail off. Backs are sensitive things and there are a million different things that can go wrong. They’re working through it and we’ll go from there. . . .
“They wanted to rehab to see if the stronger he got the better he got. He hasn’t made much progress. For a while there he was doing OK and then he had some setbacks. It just kind of leveled out where his back is still bothering him. They went in and Dr. [Robert] Watkins did some more tests on him and wanted to get a second opinion. He has a lot of respect for the doctor in Dallas. He sent him down there to have him checked out and we’ll go from there. If he needs to have another surgery, then he needs to have another surgery. I think Dr. Watkins wanted to make sure that he was looked at by this fellow in Dallas.”
Reid also said that the recent decision to extend the contract of Winston Justice, who has played well in Andrews’ place at right tackle, wasn’t related to Andrews’ uncertain status. Still, it’s hard to believe that the Eagles are counting on Andrews to do anything in 2010 and beyond, given that he’s done nothing for the Eagles in 2008 or 2009.
Not really the best advice for him to go to Dallas to see a specialist is it?
I know Philly is borderline 3rd world country when it comes to medical care and as a city, but might want to avoid a division rival’s city for medical care.
I’m sure the doctors are honorable and such, but I would be worried.
Philadelphia has some of the finest medical institutions in the country.
You’re one of the biggest idiots on this site.
Philly has some of the top neurologists in the country at U of P hospital, Americas first hospital moron.
Athletes tend to go to so called sports medicine experts based on what other players and their team tell them.
smackmyvickup- are you always this much of a genius
Ridiculous. I really don’t think that the orthopedic (or any other) doctor’s in Dallas give a $hit about a football rivalry. If the best are in Dallas then that’s where he should go…period.
If his back was bad in training camp and now its like 4 months removed from training camp, why is he going for surgery now? It should have been done 4 months ago so he would be ready to play next year. At this point however, I think his career is over. He should retire and save whatever is left of his back. His brother on the other hand deserves a good butt whooping. All that money and he can’t even make first team. I think he might be the bum
“I know Philly is borderline 3rd world country”
would you care to compare Pennslyvania to Texas for any relevant statistic such as crime/incarceration rates, obesity/diabetes, educational levels, pollution/environmental degradation, rates of divorce/alcoholism etc…?
I think we all know the answer to that comparison.
Sickens me to stick up for Philly, but the U of P is considered a top five medical school and a top twenty orthopedics hospital. That said, it has been medically established and proven that there is, for some patients, an emotional/psychological link to their back pain. Given Andrews long history of depression, it might be in everyone’s best interest to find out if the real source of his pain is in his head.
SmackMyVickUp is right. Head coaches, team owners and head cheerleaders regularly call on doctors to purposely botch operations. In return they cover the increase in mal practice insurance plus twenty percent.
One thing, though, Smack. I believe Philadelphia is a city, not a country.
He’s going to Dallas for the operation?
Well that explains why he’s not getting any better. Someone explain to Shawn Andrews that Texans don’t have the mental capacity to become medical professionals, as SmackMyVickUp has proven. Unlike constantly pretending to be a cowboy, as most of them do, there’s no hat you can put on and pretend to be a doctor.