Shawn Andrews is now the Giants’ problem

August 20, 2010|By Ashley Fox, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The New York Giants must have been getting their Michael Phelps on early Friday morning when they decided to scratch Shawn Andrews a check. It's the only explanation for why the Giants would agree to pay the former Eagles offensive guard anything north of $1 to take up space in their locker room.

That, or they needed a singer. Or their trainers needed something to do. Or general manager Jerry Reese just felt like lighting money on fire.

Because at this point, to count on Andrews to be anything other than a waste of time and money is pointless. He might be a low-risk investment with the potential for a high reward, but Andrews proved in Philadelphia that potential isn't what matters. Production does. And Andrews hasn't produced anything on the football field in nearly two years.

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In the National Football League, just about everybody gets a second chance. One team's trash is another team's potential starter. Just look at Michael Vick. Now Andrews gets his.

The Giants have injury concerns on their offensive line. Both of their starting guards, Chris Snee (knee) and Rich Seubert (hand), will miss New York's preseason game tonight against Pittsburgh, although coach Tom Coughlin said that's not why they signed Andrews. They signed him for depth at the guard and tackle positions, Coughlin said. Although Andrews was exclusively a right guard during his six seasons with the Eagles in which he made 50 starts, he was slated to play tackle for the Eagles last season, had his back cooperated.

But Andrews hasn't been healthy really since 2007. He missed all of training camp in 2008 battling depression. He started the first two games of the season but landed on injured reserve after injuring his back in a loss at Dallas.

The Eagles were counting on Andrews to start last season alongside his brother, Stacy, and his college roommate, Jason Peters. But Andrews re-injured his back during a conditioning test prior to the start of training camp. He missed all of camp and the Eagles' four preseason games, then seemed to have a turnaround, practicing for nearly two weeks before the season opener. But he suffered a setback in early September and spent the rest of the year rehabbing in California, where he had a second surgery on his back in December.

The Eagles terminated Andrews' contract in March because, they said, Andrews failed a physical.

Andrews told reporters at the Giants training camp in Albany, N.Y., on Friday that he didn't fail a physical.

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