Are Brian Westbrook's Days as a Starter Numbered in Philadelphia?

Before we begin, let me start by saying this. I love Brian Westbrook. I believe he is the second greatest back to ever strap up in Philadelphia, behind the great Wilbert Montgomery.

But multiple injury-plagued seasons have caused some concern around the NovaCare Complex recently, and it has draft experts thinking the Eagles will look for Westbrook's eventual replacement.

I personally see no flaw in that. A running back's shelf life in the NFL nowadays is about 10 years, when healthy. Westbrook is anything but healthy right now, and the playoffs were a great example of that.

Aside from one play against Minnesota, Westbrook was nothing but a body out on the field. Injuries have been a problem for him since his breakout year of 2003. In the final week of the season, he tore a muscle in his triceps and was forced to sit out the postseason.

Needless to say, the Eagles sorely missed the presence of their diminutive, yet talented running back. The Eagles offense, anemic on both sides of the ball again, lost the NFC Championship game that year to the Panthers.

Who is to say that if Westbrook didn't get hurt in that final game, the Eagles could have won and had a shot at glory in Super Bowl XXXVIII?

In 2005, a lisfranc sprain in his foot in a 42-0 loss to Seattle caused Westbrook to miss the final few games. He had season-ending surgery that week, and rookie Ryan Moats replaced him.

Westbrook battled knee injuries in 2006 and 2007—listed on the injury report every week. He missed a total of two games in that span.

Then came 2008. Westbrook was questionable EVERY week of the season, given the moniker "Mr. Questionable."

As the Eagles steamrolled into January, Andy Reid made a statement that bothered me deeply. He said that his running back's joints were bothered by field turf. So on the  days that the Eagles practiced in their bubble, they kept him out.

It may just be me, buuut, THERE IS SOMETHING TOTALLY WRONG WITH THAT STATEMENT.

Knowing that your first two games will be played on FIELD TURF, why put the guy in such a precarious situation?

Speculation has risen about the Eagles drafting Chris Wells out of Ohio State or LeSean McCoy as possible replacements for No. 36.

As I said before, I have no problems with that. Drafting another dynamic back to take some of the load off is just what Westbrook needs.

He is in no position to be shouldering 25 carries in a game, nor 250+ carries in a season for that matter. The Eagles didn't wear out Brian Westbrook's career; injuries caught up to him.