Eagles' Andrews signs seven-year extension

By DAVID WEINBERG Staff Writer, (609) 272-7186

Published: Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Updated: Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Eagles guard Shawn Andrews played so well last season that coach Andy Reid decided to keep him around for the next decade.

Andrews, the team's first-round draft pick in 2004, signed a seven-year contract extension Monday that ensures he will be with the Eagles through 2015. Terms were not available for the new pact, which will kick in when Andrews' current $9.4-million deal expires after the 2008 season.

“Shawn is a fine football player and I think we saw that last year,” Reid said in quotes provided by the team. “As he continues to mature, he could be one of the top offensive linemen in the National Football League.”

Andrews is merely the latest in a long list of players to sign extensions in recent years. That group includes quarterback Donovan McNabb, cornerbacks Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard, wide receiver Greg Lewis and running back Brian Westbrook.

Andrews is also the Eagles' fifth first-round pick in the last 10 years to sign an extension before his original deal was done, following guard Jermane Mayberry (1996), William “Tra” Thomas (1998), McNabb (1999) and Sheppard (2002). All are still with the team except for Mayberry, who signed with New Orleans last season.

“Some guys feel like they can play out their deal, but you never know what tomorrow is going to hold,” Andrews said. “I have a daughter and my mom (to support).

“I am an Eagle. This is where I want to be and this is where I'm going to be for a long time. This is sweet.”

Andrews was the Eagles' best offensive lineman last season. The starting right guard barely missed out on earning a spot in the Pro Bowl.

For the Eagles, his performance and potential outweighed his injury problems and health issues. Andrews missed almost the entire 2004 season, including the Super Bowl, after breaking his leg in his very first regular-season game.

Andrews has also been struggling with his weight for years. He reportedly blew up to nearly 400 pounds in college, got down to nearly 340 his rookie season and climbed back above 385 last season. He has lost approximately 35 pounds during the offseason and is now 355, which is the target weight the team set for him heading into training camp at Lehigh University on July 24.

“Well, the weight wasn't an issue,” Reid said. “It's the point that Shawn is a good football player and a good person. He is a big, physical player with great athletic ability. But he also keeps things alive in that locker room and has good leadership qualities.”

Much has been made about Andrews' athletic talent. Fellow offensive linemen Todd Herremans and Scott Young both described him as “a freak.”

Andrews is hoping that his weight loss will make him even quicker without sacrificing strength and power.

“I already feel a ton better,” he said. “I was just thinking to myself that it was just last year at the time I was around the 380s I would get down in my stance and feel all this bulge and it was very uncomfortable.

“I want to get to the point where there are no questions about me. I want it to be when you talk about Shawn Andrews, it's not going to be, ‘Oh, he's close to 400 pounds again.' It's going to be, ‘Wow, this guy's a phenom, he's 23 years old and he's kicking butt.'”

The Eagles presumably will turn their attention toward re-signing some players who are in the final years of their contract, most notably safeties Brian Dawkins and Michael Lewis.

Dawkins, who is entering his 11th season, will turn 33 in October, but is still regarded among the best free safeties in the NFL. Lewis, who is entering his fifth season, slumped in 2005 after making the Pro Bowl in 2004, but is ranked among the best young strong safeties.