Though he has indicated a desire to continue playing, the Philadelphia Eagles have announced that they will be releasing veteran running back Brian Westbrook.
“Brian is one of the greatest Eagles of all time and he is even a better person and leader,” coach Andy Reid said. “In my mind, there has not been a more versatile running back that the NFL has seen. I had a conversation with Brian this morning to let him know. This is by far the most difficult part of this job. We wanted to make this move now in order to maximize Brian’s chances of landing with another NFL team.”
Added owner Jeffrey Lurie: “Brian Westbrook is one of the most electric players in the history of this franchise and is certainly also one of the most popular. He was personally one of the my favorite players to watch each and every Sunday and his playmaking abilities, leadership and values will be missed.”
“We all know how valuable Brian was as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and he will certainly go down as one of the greatest Eagles of all time,” said president Joe Banner. “But what really showed me how special a person Brian is, was watching the way he interacted with my children. That said more to me about Brian than anything else he could have done on the playing field. We will miss him both as a person and as a player.”
Westbrook was due to earn a base salary of $7.25 million in 2010.
Interest in him could be limited. Apart from a lengthy history of knee and ankle problems, Westbrook’s multiple concussions from the 2009 season make him a risk for repeated problems with respect to one of the hottest-button subjects the league currently faces.