Has Brian Westbrook Played His Final NFL Game?

Howard Eskin of NBC-10 in Philadelphia reported Sunday night that injuries to Eagles running back Brian Westbrook's left knee could force him into retirement.

Eskin told NBC-10's John Clark that Westbrook's Eagles career was "definitely" over, saying that his "left knee is in terrible shape." According to Eskin, Westbrook is searching for other doctors' opinions, but he should make a decision about his career within the next few weeks.

Eskin said, "From what I'm hearing, he would not be able to pass a physical for anybody in the NFL with the situation in his knee." He also attributed Westbrook's lack of playing time in the Eagles' playoff loss against Dallas to his knee, saying that Westbrook did not look good to head coach Andy Reid in the week of practice before the game.

Eskin also reported that the damage in the knee would not be fixable surgically at this point in Westbrook's career, and that the injuries in the knee will likely force Westbrook to retire from the NFL.

If this report turns out to be true (and unlike the National Enquirer, this one sounds like Eskin did his research and has legitimate sources close to the situation), Westbrook will have cemented himself into Eagles franchise lore with his eight years of service to the team.

Drafted out of Villanova in the third round (the 91st overall pick) by the Eagles, the 5'8", 200-pound Westbrook came into the league with questions about whether he could sustain the workload of an every-down back.  

Luckily, Westbrook shared a backfield with Duce Staley for the first two years of his career.

Westbrook became the lightning to Staley's thunder long before Chris Johnson and Lendale White popularized the slogan for those first two years, as the Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship game each year.

After 2003, the Eagles decided not to resign Staley after Westbrook had made strides towards becoming the Eagles' franchise back in the second half of the previous season. (He also scored two punt return touchdowns...sound similar to another second-year player the Eagles have?)

And when Correll Buckhalter tore his patellar tendon in the preseason of 2004, Westbrook stepped up to become the featured back. Westy rushed for 812 yards on 177 carries (for a 4.6 YAC), and led all running backs in the NFL with 73 catches for 703 yards.  

Westbrook combined with QB Donovan McNabb and always-entertaining receiver Terrell Owens to guide the Eagles to the Super Bowl (where Bill Belichick would later cheat them out of a win), and Westy earned his first Pro Bowl berth for his 1,500 yards from scrimmage.

After an injury and T.O.-ravaged 2005 season, which saw Westbrook shutting himself down for the season in early December due to a foot injury, Westy became one of the NFL's most feared backs in 2006 and 2007.

Westbrook exploded for a career-high 1,217 rushing yards on 240 carries in 2006, and remained a deadly element of the Eagles' passing game, with 77 receptions for 699 yards. He finished sixth in the NFL with 1,916 yards from scrimmage.

And he only surpassed himself next season, as he broke the 2,000 scrimmage yards barrier for the first and only time in his career. Westbrook gained 1,333 yards on the ground on 278 carries, and caught 90 passes for 771 yards. He led the NFL with 2,104 yards from scrimmage.

Westbrook would finish his career with the Eagles as No. 2 on the franchise's all-time rushing list (his 5,995 yards trails only Wilbert Montgomery's 6,538); add in his value in the passing game, and Westbrook could be the Eagles' most valuable running back in franchise history. (Montgomery fumbled 42 times in his career; Westbrook fumbled 12 times.)

Westy led the Eagles in rushing for six straight seasons, from 2003-2008, and trails only Harold Carmichael ('79) and Steve Van Buren ('77) as the Eagles' all-time touchdown scorers. (Westbrook would finish with 68 total scores: 37 rushing, 29 receiving, and two punt returns.)

In reality, this knee injury could be a blessing in disguise for Westbrook.

He can go out on (sort of) his own terms. Instead of coming back after suffering two concussions in four weeks this season, trying to salvage a once-great career, we won't have to think back on three or four more injury-ravaged seasons for Westbrook.

We've seen this type of rapid deterioration in a number of the top-flight running backs of the past decade (LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander, even Clinton Portis come to mind), so this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Westbrook came into the league with fragility concerns for a reason, and to get that kind of production for eight years out of a 5'8" guy like Westbrook was nothing short of incredible.

Westbrook owes nothing more to the Eagles, and he shouldn't feel like he's letting the team down by retiring.  

In fact, the Eagles would be letting him down if he came back. With $7.5 million due to him in 2010...if Eskin's reports about Westbrook's knee are even remotely true, there's no way the Eagles would exercise their option on Westbrook.  

Much like Eagles fans have witnessed over the years (and most painfully with Brian Dawkins last year), the Eagles management has no problem cutting the cord from aging/injured players, and if Westbrook doesn't retire, he'll become the latest example of that.

Why force the issue? Any time someone suffers two concussions in four weeks, he should give serious consideration to whether football is worth further injury.  

He's made plenty of money over the course of his career, enough that he and his family should live comfortably for the rest of their lives, even if Westbrook never works again.

And you don't think the Eagles would want to keep Westbrook, debatably the franchise's greatest running back ever, around as a face of the franchise for a long time?  

That gets made easier if Westbrook can still form coherent sentences in 20 years. While he comes off as an intelligent, well-spoken man now (and as a Georgetown graduate, it pains me to say that anyone from Villanova can sound like that), will he when he is 50, if he keeps playing and suffers two more concussions before he retires?

No, in fact, while this could be a day of mourning for Eagles fans, I'm going to take the high road, and choose to celebrate the eight great years Westbrook gave the team instead.

Over the past eight years, we got to witness one of the greatest players ever to wear an Eagles uniform. If this is the end, Brian Westbrook, thank you for everything you gave the Eagles. And thank you for making the right choice to shut it down now, before risking (any more) permanent damage to your body.

We'll never forget No. 36.