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With the new concerns surrounding concussions, Brian Westbrook’s recent problems have gotten a lot of publicity in and outside of Philadelphia.

It’s no such much surrounding what the Eagles do with Westbrook this year, as it’s almost the consensus opinion that he head to the IR for 2009. But that’s where the opinions then fork to either side.

Many people believe that two concussions in three weeks is enough for a 30 year old running back to get the hint and hang up the cleats in the offseason, while others believe that if he sits out this year, he’ll be able come back in 2010 without any nasty side effects.

Eagles fans are on pins and needles wanting to find out, but as always, coach Reid isn’t giving anything away just yet.

“I don’t know,” Reid said after being asked if Westbrook would play again in 2009. “I think it’s too early to tell right now. It’s the last thing on my mind. First thing is that he’s OK and that we take care of him. Football right now for Brian Westbrook is not the important thing. It’s making sure that we get him analyzed, tested and taken care of and then we’ll go from there.

“Not that we didn’t do that before. We took every precautionary measure that we could before and it happened again. Obviously we’re going to check with experts and make sure that we listen to them like we did before. The number one thing is Brian’s health. You can put football aside and make sure that he’s taken care of here.”

Reid is spot on in this situation. Football has to take a backseat to the man’s health. He may be getting over the hill as far as the NFL is concerned, but in the grand scheme of things he’s got a long and full life ahead of him.

After all, he’s only 30.

There were some encouraging signs this time around however, as Westbrook didn’t lose consciousness after sustaining concussion number two.

“He was foggy,” Reid said. “He stood up and walked off the field, but you could sense that there was something wrong there.”

If he has to head to the IR, the Eagles could seek the help of a veteran free agent like Warrick Dunn, someone who suits the role Westbrook was filling. Dunn could be a great teacher for LeSean McCoy as a guy who has done it very well for a long time.

Not only that, but Dunn might just be the very best locker room presence in the entire league, so it’s not like there’s a risk in bringing him in.

More information is sure to come out later this week once Rick Burkholder and the team doctor’s get a chance to check Westy out and see how serious this is.

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By Bob Cunningham
Writer/Blogger, SJ Contributing Author