One word comes to mind when discussing Brian Westbrook: If.
That is, if he had been able to stay healthy, how good could he have been? Westbrook was one of the most explosive players in the league for a couple years, but his inability to avoid injuries — some nagging; others not so much — curtailed too many seasons.
Recommended Stories
The Eagles announced Tuesday that they will cut the DeMatha graduate and they do so reluctantly (and because he’ll be owed $7.1 million if they don’t).
In case you’re wondering, the Redskins should not consider signing Westbrook (who averaged 97.5 yards vs. them in 13 games). He’s 30 years old, missed eight games last year with two concussions and his days as an explosive talent have passed. If Washington is going to upgrade at running back, it needs to be with young legs.
Still, he posted nice career numbers for the Eagles: 9,785 combined yards from scrimmage. That’s a hefty number. In 2006 and again in ’07, he was one of the best in the league, with combined yardage totals of 1,916 and 2,104, respectively.
But he never played more than 15 games in a season and three times in his eight seasons he played less than 13. That doesn’t factor in all the games where he played but was limited by injuries.
That does not make his career a disappointment. He starred despite coming out of Division I-AA Villanova. He did a lot; injuries kept him from doing more.
