As the Eagles and SOB Nation continue to mourn the death of the Dawkins era, NFL Free Agency marches forward.

The Birds were quiet today, after their “splash” of signing Stacy Andrews in Day 1 of Free Agency.  Here’s an update of today’s Eagles-related NFL Free Agency news:

T.J. Houshmandzadeh - Late yesterday, Housh and his agent got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, asking for more money from the Eagles than other teams.  The rumor going around is that Andy called his good friend and former Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren to get a read on the kind of contract T.J. was asking for from Seattle.  We can thank Houshmandzadeh’s agent Kennard McGuire for negotiating him out of Philly.  Housh visited with Minnesota today.

Antonio Smith - A player that the Eagles were rumored to be interested in, he signed a 5-year, $35 million contract with Houston today.  I’m glad to see Smith sign elsewhere, as I think the 6′4″ 285 pound DE is overrated, and was overpayed.  2007 was Smith’s best year in terms of tackles (44) and sacks (5.5).  $35 million for that?  No Thanks.

Bryant Johnson - Another player who has been on the Eagles (and Frankie V’s) radar, he signed with the Lions today.  The 3-year, $9 million deal is an upgrade for Johnson, and as of now he will start opposite Megatron.

Keith Brooking - In NFC East news, Brooking signed with Dallas on Saturday.  Looks like Dallas is trying to put together the oldest LB corps in the NFL, with Greg Ellis (33), Brooking (33) and Zach Thomas (35) all running with the freak known as DeMarcus Ware.

Still a lot of action to come, but the Eagles have done more to fall off than improve.  The window keeps on slipping closer to closed.

Welcome to Philadelphia Stacy!

Per the illustrious Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

A league source tells PFT that tackle Stacy Andrews has agreed to terms with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Per the source, it’s a multi-year deal averaging $7 million per season.

Does this mean the end of the road for Big Jon Runyan?

Stacy, the older brother of Eagles guard Shawn Andrews, played for the pathetic Cincinnati Bengals last season.  Stacy received the franchise tag from Cincinnati in the ‘08, but tore his ACL and MCL in the Bengals Week 16 game against the Ravens.

The recent injury is a bit concerning, and it even prompted the guys over a RotoWorld.com to write, “Andrews, four weeks into his rehab from ACL and MCL surgery, has gotten advice from Carson Palmer on how to rehab. On his next contract, Andrews probably won’t make half the $7.5M he got via the franchise tag last year.”  earlier this month.  Looks like the Eagles were willing to take the risk.

Andrews is still young (27) and may not only help the Eagles at tackle but guard as well by resurrecting his brother’s career.  I’m sure that these two have been dreaming about playing together their whole lives, and when the opportunity presented itself, the Eagles made it happen.

What are the jersey’s going to look like now?  St. Andrews and Sh. Andrews?

The signing conjures up images of Jamal and Andre “Action” Jackson from The Replacements, two offensive linemen who were brothers that only played well when on the same team (or when bodyguarding for ODB).

Shawn and Stacy Andrews, aka Jamal and Andre Jackson from The Replacements

Free agency started about 30 minutes ago, but the rumors are already flying.

The Eagles are rumored to be interested in OG Jason Brown, but if they are, their interest will have to wait a little because Brown will be visiting with the St. Louis Rams on Friday according to ProFootballTalk.

Free agent center/guard Jason Brown will kick off his free-agent tour on Friday with a visit with the St. Louis Rams.

Brown — considered by some to be the best lineman on the market — is likely to command a big, multiyear deal.

Another offensive lineman being linked to the Eagles is Stacy Andrews - the brother of Eagles OG Shawn Andrews.  I’d love to see the Eagles sign Andrews and reunite him with Shawn.

Last week, Lewis sure sounded like the Bengals thought they were close to a deal. Then nothing. Not usually a good sign, and the speculation has always been that a reunion was sought on the Philadelphia offensive line with brother Shawn Andrews or that the Jets have coveted him since they hosted him for a visit in restricted free agency.

Speaking of Bengals free agents, Carson Palmer is working on getting TJ Houshmandzadeh to resign with Cinci.

Quarterback Carson Palmer has turned into Tom Daschale without the limos and is lobbying Houshmandzadeh hard. He called Houshmandzadeh on Thursday while he was working out.

“He just said, ‘Don’t forget us,’ and I told him the same thing I’m telling you,” Houshmandzadeh said Thursday night. “If they’re fair, we’ll make history. If not, we can still hang out and be friends.”

More importantly, the same report on the Bengals website says that Housh wants to be signed somewhere by Saturday night so we should know fairly soon whether or not the Birds are legit players for his services.

Tra Thomas is patiently waiting for the Eagles to make him an offer he can't refuse

If there is one thing that I agree with Andy Reid on, it’s the importance of the offensive line.  Football games are won and lost in the trenches.  The Offensive Line has long been strength of the Eagles, and we have used both the draft and Free Agency to add talent.

The 2009 off-season brought a lot of questions to the line, none of which have been addressed (yet).  Both starting tackles from last year are unrestricted free agents.  Jon Runyan had a fairly serious knee surgey, and I expect him to re-sign once he gets himself healthy.  On the left side, Tra Thomas is expected to resign with the Birds, but that has yet to happen upon posting.  On top of the questions at Tackle, former first round pick Shawn Andrews missed the entire 2008 season while battling depression and a lingering back injury.

With such uncertainty at a critical position like Offensive Tackle, the Eagles would be wise to address the position in more ways than one.  Restricted Free Agent Nick Cole signed a 2nd round tender today, so he will be back in Green next year.  The Eagles have already been linked to Ravens Guard / Center Jason Brown, and I’m sure Andy Reid and Co. plan on aggressively pursuing the top Free Agents along the Offensive Line.

Click here to check out all the 2009 NFL Free Agent Offensive Linemen by position