Brian Westbrook says he's not retiring, has heard from NFL teams for 2010

A day after he was released by the Philadelphia Eagles, running back Brian Westbrook said his career is not over.

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"My plan is not to retire," Westbrook told Philadelphia radio station 97.5 The Fanatic on Wednesday. "My plan is to continue to play football."

Westbrook, who thanked Eagles fans and coach Andy Reid for their support over the years, said his agent has already heard from three or four teams about his availability for 2010.

"There's 32 teams out there," Westbrook said. "Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to go and play with another team."

Westbrook, 30, was coming off a season in which he played in only eight games due to an ankle injury and a pair of concussions and scored two touchdowns. The team saved $7.5 million by releasing him Tuesday.

Wednesday, Westbrook told 97.5 The Fanatic that he understands football is a business -- and can sometimes be a harsh business for running backs over the age of 30.

ON-FIELD DOWNSIZING

Brian Westbrook accounted for nearly 37 percent of the Eagles' total offense in 2007. But in each of the past two seasons, Westbrook's part of the Eagles' offensive attack was diminished.

Season Yds from scrimmage Pct of offense 

2006 1,916 31.4 

2007 2,104 36.7 

2008 1,338 23.9 

2009 455 7.9 

"It's hard for teams to keep veterans, especially aging veterans at a higher salary number, when they can get younger guys," Westbrook said. "Especially when guys have battled injuries the way I have the last year and a half or so. I understand that. I completely do."

A former All-Pro, the 5-foot-10 Westbrook led the league in yards from scrimmage in 2007 with 2,104. He rushed for 1,333 yards and accounted for 12 touchdowns that season.

Westbrook, a third-round pick out of Villanova in the 2002 draft, is Philadelphia's career leader in yards from scrimmage (9,785). He also ranks second in yards rushing (5,995) behind Wilbert Montgomery and third in receptions (426) behind Harold Carmichael and Pete Retzlaff.

He is third in team history behind Carmichael and Steve Van Buren in touchdowns (68) and holds the franchise single-season record for most scrimmage yards in a season (2,104 in 2007) and most receptions in a season (90 in 2007).

He eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark 20 times (including playoffs) during his career, tying for second-most in club history.

"I think we all know that Brian is one of the all-time great Philadelphia Eagles," Reid said Tuesday. "For what we've done here over the years, Brian has been just a huge part of building this program to the level that we're at now. My heart will always be a Brian Westbrook fan as we go forward here."

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