In the past week since Brian Westbrook's release, I've been sampling a lot of local sports radio and national writing. The two main sports stations have had a stream of NFL pundits on to discuss the move and Westbrook's future.The thing is... to a man they all have serious doubts as to whether the RB will be able to find a team next year.
Sal Paolantonio said his chances of playing in 2010 were "slim and none." Mike Florio of PFT said he thought it was "highly unlikely" that Westbrook would play again. A Houston based writer scoffed at the idea of the Texan signing Westbrook or recently released LaDanian Tomlinson calling the signing of either "a big waste of time."
Both are 30 years old and available, which would be great if they were single women looking for a good time. However, they are NFL running backs, with injury histories and wear on their tires that should be scary if you know anything about the life cycle of an NFL running back.
The same theme is repeated by a Vikings writer and the Sporting News, the latter of which don't even include Westy among their top 10 available running backs. The NY Times had this to say about Westbrook's chances next year.
Heading into 2009, Westbrook was already showing signs of decline. Given that he’ll be 31 in September, it’s doubtful he’ll be on a roster for Week 1.
It's not a pretty picture, but Westbrook himself thinks he will play again.
"My plan is not to retire. My plan is to continue to play football. There's 32 teams out there," Westbrook said. "Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to go and play with another team."
So what do you think are the chances Westbrook plays again?