Shawn Andrews used to talk with his brother, Stacy, about the possibility of playing together in Philadelphia.
However, after Stacy suffered a knee injury late in the 2008 season, Shawn thought that it was a "devastating blow" to the chance of playing together.
Not so.
On Saturday, Stacy signed a six-year contract with the Eagles and the Andrews brothers will become just the third set of brothers since 1951 to play together on the same offensive line, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"It is a pleasure, an honor, a gift and all those big words that you can use to describe it," Shawn said during a conference call on Saturday. "It's something we talked about over the last few years and it's actually coming to fruition. It's a beautiful thing." Photo Gallery : Stacy Andrews Signs 6-Year Deal
The two brothers have not yet talked, but Stacy contacted Shawn when he was on his way to Philadelphia on Friday. Shawn, who is in North Carolina spending time with his son, knew once Stacy was in Philadelphia that he would be an Eagle.
It is unsure where either Andrews brother will play on the offensive line in 2009, but Shawn said it would be the "Great Wall of Philadelphia." Shawn is a two-time Pro Bowl right guard, but he played tackle in college at Arkansas. Stacy was a starter at left guard in 2007 before moving in the middle of the season to right tackle. Stacy played under the franchise tag for the Bengals last year and started 15 games at right tackle before suffering the injury.
Both of the Eagles starting offensive tackles, Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas, are unrestricted free agents. Shawn is coming off of a season where he battled depression and then suffered a back injury in Week 2 which sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Shawn said that he will be ready to go for the post-draft mini-camps in May and during his workouts he has put his hand down as a left tackle and said that it felt "more natural." Stacy had knee surgery in January and said on Saturday that he is unsure he will be ready for training camp even though he's "ahead of schedule" and "walking fine and feeling great."
Head coach Andy Reid said that Shawn's battle with depression did not play a factor in acquiring Stacy.
"That's not why we brought him here, no. We brought him here because he's a good football player," Reid said. "That's the primary thing. Shawn worked very hard to get things straightened out before we brought Stacy here. I'm not worried about that part of Shawn's game. I think it will be a neat experience for them. I think the last time they played together was AAU basketball or something. They haven't had a chance to do this on the football field and I think that's pretty exciting for both of them."
Even though Stacy is a year-and-a-half older than Shawn, they both entered the league in 2004. It was during the trip to Indianapolis for the Combine that the two truly bonded, according to Shawn. Their dad was not a factor in their lives and had to depend on their mother Linda. Shawn was the Eagles' first-round pick and Stacy was a fourth-round selection of the Bengals. Now they are in Philadelphia together not just for each other, but for the entire offensive line.
"We're going to push each other. It's not just a Shawn and Stacy Andrews thing, it's the whole o-line," Shawn said. "We've got to support each other and be behind each other 100 percent and there's probably going to be some arguments, but we're going to love each other just as much as we did before the game."
