"The valedictory given running back Brian Westbrook after eight years of exemplary service clocked in at just over 11 minutes yesterday afternoon, not because the Eagles sought to underplay Westbrook's greatness, but because there really wasn't that much to say.

Even if Andy Reid had been inclined to elaborate, which he most certainly was not, the release of a player who is no longer useful to a football organization needs little added explanation.

Before last season, the Eagles declined to pick up a contract option that would have kept Westbrook under team control through the 2013 season. Without that option, Westbrook's contract would have ended after the 2010 season. The Eagles were betting then that Westbrook had, at most, two serviceable seasons remaining. As it turned out, he didn't even have one.

"This is the absolutely worst part of the job, but if you're fortunate enough to stick around long enough, you're going to see these things happen," Reid said.

If you stick around long enough, the prospects you find in the NFL draft will occasionally blossom beyond your most fervent hopes and then, one day, they will wilt and have to be dismissed. That is the story of Westbrook, the 91st pick in the 2002 draft, who went on to set team records for touches (1,734) and yards from scrimmage (9,785).

Just two seasons ago, in 2007, Westbrook led the NFL in yards from scrimmage. That's how fast it happens. This season, he struggled to recover from ankle surgery, suffered two concussions and an ankle sprain, fought the chronic pain and swelling in his knees, and ended his career as an afterthought on the offense.

In the wild-card playoff loss to Dallas, Westbrook didn't have a single carry. He caught the ball once for a 27-yard gain, a faint echo of a time when those plays were routine and not rare.

"I'm not going to get into all that," Reid said, when asked about the 30-year-old Westbrook's decline and the decision to move on. "These type of things happen in the National Football League. It doesn't mean Brian won't go on and play for somebody else. I don't know that now. 'We just went in a different direction' would be the best way to put it."

The coach would not say if the team tried to retain Westbrook for something less than the $7.25 million he would have been paid in the 2010 season. Reid could see the problems with either "yes" or "no" to that question, so he dodged it. Anyone who expected him to say, "No, we wouldn't want him if he were free," hasn't been paying attention."