Shawn Andrews’ rollercoaster run with the Philadelphia Eagles is over.
The team announced the move, which only comes as a surprise because of the timing. Andrews underwent back surgery again in December, and his status for training camp was uncertain at best.
Conventional wisdom was that the Eagles would see how his recovery went before deciding whether to pay him another $2 million in 2010.
Andrews’ toughness and motivation was questioned at times in Philadelphia during his recovery from various back ailments. The two-time Pro Bowler has played only two games the last two years and missed the entire 2009 season. He also battled depression in 2008.
“We appreciate the efforts and contributions of Shawn while he was in Philadelphia,” said head coach Andy Reid. “We have, however, decided to move in another direction.”
The Eagles restructured the contract of Shawn’s brother Stacy last week and re-signed tackle Winston Justice to a contract last season. With Jason Peters at left tackle, Philly decided they had enough depth and didn’t want to deal with Shawn anymore.
It’s unclear if Andrews wants to play football -- his goodbye tweets to Philly were short and sweet -- but he’s an intriguing high-risk, high-reward option that teams have to investigate.
UPDATE: Andrews says he will continue to play.