Dawkins knows Andrews' struggles

When Shawn Andrews eventually does rejoin the Eagles, he'll find a sympathetic ear in six-time Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins.

Andrews said in interviews yesterday with web site www.philly.com that he's missed the first 12 days of training camp and the last week of June minicamp because of depression. Andrews said he's being treated and hopes to return to the team later this week, if he's cleared by his doctor.

Last night, in an interview on Comcast SportsNet, Dawkins revealed that he too was once treated for clinical depression.

"I went through it my rookie year, my first two years, so I know what it's like," Dawkins said. "I did the doctor thing, but I leaned heavily on my pastor, I leaned heavily on men of God, my man Troy (Vincent) was here, Irving Fryar was here, Emmitt Thomas helped me out tremendously, so there were a lot of people that I had in my corner as well as prayer to help me out of that situation.

"It's nothing to scoff at. The thing about it is we're held up as being these mighty people because we play this violent game, but at the end of the day, we have the same emotions as the average cat."

The Eagles had no comment on Andrews' remarks.

Andrews has been AWOL from the Eagles since the middle of June. His minicamp absence was excused, according to head coach Andy Reid, but his current absence is not. The Eagles are fining Andrews the NFL daily maximum of $15,000 per day, which comes out to $180,000 so far.

"I'm willing to admit that I've been going through a very bad time with depression," Andrews said in the story. "I've finally decided to get professional help. It's not something that blossomed up overnight. I'm on medication, trying to get better."

Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, also battled depression going back to his college days at Louisiana Tech. His symptoms seem nearly identical to the ones Andrews describes a€" among them a lack of concentration and an inability to sleep.

"With depression, I have always had problems focusing," Bradshaw said in a 2004 speech in San Francisco."I suffered from terrible panic attacks and was unable to concentrate. With the help of therapists, counselors and the medication they prescribed for me ... my panic attacks are gone and I can pay attention to the elements of my life that are important."

Andrews signed a 10-year contract worth $48,873,545 in June 2006 and is scheduled to earn $2.98 million this year. The fines he's already accrued amount to about 6 percent of his 2008 base salary.

"Football is important, it's a means to an end," Andrews said. "But my mental health, I feel like, is a lot more important. That's a hell of a lot of money. Money's good, money's a necessity, but it's not everything. I can't put a price tag on my mental state."

Andrews said in a second interview that appeared last night on the www.philly.com web site that he initially sought medical treatment in June but changed his mind and returned to his home in Arkansas.

"My pride got in the way," he said. "I didn't want anybody to see me walking into a psych clinic. Professionals aren't always the answer. Sometimes, just talking things out helps. And now with all the rumors coming out, it has only made things worse.

"Some of the comments really got to me. You always hear guys say that they don't care what people think and sometimes I don't about certain things. But in the grand scheme, I want people to think positive about me."

Earlier in the day, Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said he was disappointed Andrews is missing significant camp time.

"I'm certainly disappointing he's not here," Lurie said. "Other players get reps and improve because that's the game of football, you've got to prepare. He's been hurt before so we had to prepare, anyway. I'm hopeful Shawn will have a terrific season, be here and that things will work themselves out. You don't see too many players not at their training camps. You just hope what's going to happen to Shawn will be great for Shawn and great for the franchise."

Reid said he's not concerned about Andrews' absence because Max Jean-Gilles has played so well with the first offense at right guard. However, Jean-Gilles is a third-year pro who's started one career game and only played in four.

Andrews is a two-time Pro Bowl player and an all-pro. Andrews said he anticipates arriving at Lehigh on Friday. The Eagles open their preseason with a game against the Steelers that evening in Pittsburgh. Their next practice would be at 8:15 a.m. Sunday.

Andrews did not return a message left on his cell phone yesterday.

Andrews is currently on the Reserve-Did not Report list. The Eagles would have to release a player if they reinstate him and allow him to practice, which Dawkins hopes is soon.

"What needs to be dealt with," Dawkins said at Lehigh earlier in the day, "is to get in here, make sure he's fine, make sure he's healthy, make sure everything is good with him and get him in here so we can play some ball."