Brian Westbrook has been one of the best players in the NFL for the past 5 years. A multipurpose running back, he has helped the Philadelphia Eagles stay amongst the league’s better teams since he joined the team. Brian’s talents, like many who play football, has come with a price, one that is still hard to estimate.

We have included articles about the long-overdue attention now being given to this severe problem of head injuries and the long-term impact on these players, not to mention their families. We applaud Brian being honest about his public concern about his health, as silence amongst players, driven by fear of losing their position on the team, is one of the challenges to dealing with this problem effectively.

You can read the full article about Brian’s concerns about his ability to play this year and the long-term impact of concussions at http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4727140, with an excerpt below. We also include a video of this star player in action.

(Excerpt)

Westbrook worried after concussions
Updated: December 9, 2009

After suffering two concussions in a three-week span, Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook said he’s concerned about his future in the NFL and beyond.

“I’m worried about it,” Westbrook said on HBO’s “Joe Buck Live” on Tuesday. “Concussions have been all over the headlines and all over the papers, and it has been on the top of my mind since the Redskins game on the 26th of October.”

The 30-year-old Westbrook has missed three straight games.

“I’m very concerned just because there is not a lot of data that says in 10 years or 20 years you’ll be fine if you had too many concussions,” he said in the interview. “I’m worried about that, and, hopefully, next time I go out there I don’t have to worry about it anymore.

“That’s my biggest concern. How am I going to be when I’m 50 or when I’m 60? Will I have all these brain diseases and will I have a problem remembering things? … Now, I’m trying to get myself together with the help of the doctors as well as coach [Andy] Reid and the training staff. Now, the most important thing is to get 100 percent healthy — and not play football … until I’m 100 percent healthy.”

Westbrook, who returned to practice Wednesday, said he wasn’t completely healed the last time he returned to the Eagles.

“That’s what the doctor said, he said that although some of the symptoms were gone, I was not healed completely,” Westbrook said.

(The article continues at http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4727140)

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