Brian Westbrook probably has seen his final carry.


It became clear to most Eagles fans that Brian Westbrook was not the same guy he was even only two years ago. He's one of the most popular figures in Philadelphia sports history, so to see the fanbase universally accept that his time was up says a lot.

As is usually the case when a high-profile player is released, everyone started connecting the dots.

Chester Taylor jumped ship for Chicago in free agency, so Minnesota was (and still is) looking for a backup to Adrian Peterson. They looked poised to bring in LaDainian Tomlinson, but that fell through and the Westbrook-to-the-Vikings talks heated up even more.

But there was nothing there. It doesn't appear that the possibility of signing Westbrook even crossed the mind of Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress, who worked with Westbrook for three years as the offensive coordinator in Philadelphia.

He's a perfect fit to backup AP and obviously has a history with Childress, so the fact that there is absolutely no interest says a lot about what even his former coaches think about his ability moving forward.

Even Baltimore Ravens' head coach Jon Harbaugh, once Andy Reid's special teams coordinator, publicly said he would not be pursuing Westbrook.

He said that it was only because he was happy with his situation at running back, which might be true, but it was mainly to be nice to a guy who has been so good for so long, but simply doesn't have it anymore.

There hasn't even been so much as a rumor that Westbrook might be visiting somewhere, much less getting a contract offer any time soon. It's something I think everyone feared when Westbrook was released, but figured that there was even one team out of the 31 remaining that would give him a shot to show he's still got something left.

But there isn't. Barring an injury to a starter somewhere around the league, I don't expect Westbrook to be playing in 2010. And if he doesn't play in 2010, it most likely means that his career is over.

It's an unfortunate end to a man who has been a consummate professional and great player, but that's the way the NFL has gone. It's a "what have you done for me lately?" league, and the truth of matter is that Westbrook hasn't done a whole lot lately.

I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like Westbrook will slowly fade off into the abyss of NFL free agency before he finally is able to come to grips and file the retirement papers.

UPDATE: Brad Childress has officially said he's not interested "as of right this second" in Westbrook.

"He is a good player, and I have a lot of admiration and respect for him," Childress said, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

"I do not know if we are far enough down the free-agent trail yet, but he is certainly a guy that is on our board and on our list, as are others. There is no interest as of right this second, but do I respect his abilities, absolutely. I have a lot of admiration for him."