A Gamble The Chiefs Should Consider Taking

I am not big on the Chiefs taking big gambles. I wanted them to take

Julius Peppers but I did not want them to pay a billion dollars to have him. I don’t mind, however, when the Chiefs make smart gambles. The signing of Casey Weigmann is an example of a smart gamble, so long as they don’t put all their eggs in his 36 year old basket. A major offseason need the Chiefs have been trying to fill is the offensive line. While it may appear the Chiefs have done enough to improve the unit by signing Ryan Lilja and Weigmann, they still need depth and injury insurance. A player has recently became available. Would you gamble on him? He is a 27 year old, 6-4, 325 pound guard and has been selected to two Pro Bowls. He is currently a free agent. Should be really expensive right? Probably not. You see, that was the good. The bad is that the player has only played 2 games in the last 2 seasons due to injuries and has suffered from depression. These issues are largely why his previous team released him. Still, if the player still wants to play, would you take a gamble on him and take him to camp? The players identity is after the jump.

The player is former Eagles guard Shawn Andrews.

The Eagles apparently got fed up waiting for Andrews to heal both mentally and physically. Still, their loss could be the Chiefs gain.

There is a lot to sort out here. There is a good chance that Andrews may not even want to play football anymore. However, if he does, I think the Chiefs have t give him a serious look. It isn’t often a 2 time Pro Bowler just gets released in to free agency at what would likely be a bargain basement price. No one is going to sign Andrews to a large contract because if he proves to be useless and goes down to injury again, the team could be stuck with his salary.

Andrews still needs to eat, however, so he might be willing to take a low 1 year contract with a team like the Chiefs. If that is the case, there is no reason why the Chiefs shouldn’t make the move. They can take Andrews to camp with a really low cost risk and see if he can come out of his funk. If he can, they could have a Pro Bowl caliber guard under 30, meaning they could move Brian Waters to center and either keep Weigmann as a backup or cut him. If Andrews doesn’t have it anymore the Chiefs can simply cut him or if he re injures himself, they can move him to IR and will only be on the hook for a small amount of money.

The odds may be low that Andrews can resurrect his career but I think the reward far outweighs the risk in this situation.

What do you think, Addicts? Should the Chiefs roll the dice on Shawn Andrews?