Six years ago, Brian Westbrook chugged up to the hilltop Lehigh dorms driving his mom's 1993 Buick LeSabre. It was red, more or less. The third-round rookie from Villanova told reporters he was relieved to have made it there from Maryland, in a car that had clocked 300,000 miles. An ill-timed accident in the Lexus that Westbrook had bought with some of his signing bonus meant borrowing his mom's ride to make it to training camp on time.
Westbrook pulled into the same crescent drive in front of those same dorms just before 6 p.m. yesterday, the faultless black finish of his immaculate BMW 750li gleaming the way the finer things tend to gleam. Westbrook didn't seem to mind as reporters banged against the car's trunk, jostling for position with cameras and microphones as the most important unhappy Eagle discussed his quest for a better contract, and his agent switch.
Westbrook said that for a while there, "there definitely was"
a possibility he would not report to camp, but he showed up to give new agent Todd France a chance to get a deal done. Westbrook didn't seem to be thinking in terms of a gradual process; he said France spoke with Eagles vice president Howie Roseman twice yesterday. France, whose representation of Westbrook became official yesterday, did not return a phone call seeking comment. Though Eagles sources had no comment yesterday, they have emphasized all week that the team is eager to reach agreement with Westbrook and put this potential distraction to rest.
Speaking of potential distractions, 24 hours ago, who would have predicted that both Westbrook and disaffected cornerback Lito Sheppard would show on reporting day for veterans, but right guard Shawn Andrews would not? Andrews was the only absentee on the 80-member team when Eagles coach Andy Reid convened his 7 p.m. meeting. Agent Rich Moran said Andrews was absent due to a personal matter, and Reid, through a team spokesman, confirmed that, but did not excuse the absence. Neither Moran nor the team disclosed the nature of the problem. Andrews also missed the final week of a June minicamp for personal reasons.
Moran would not discuss whether the team has told him Andrews will be fined. Potentially, being under contract but not being here could cost a player $15,000 a day and a prorated portion of his signing bonus.
"We're working with the Eagles"
to resolve the personal problem, Moran said. "We're working on getting him there as soon as possible."
When asked, Moran said it was not the sort of personal problem that causes someone to check into rehab.
The Pro Football Talk Web site claimed Andrews is unhappy with his contract, but Moran and the Eagles said that was not the case.
Sheppard, who also switched agents recently, hiring Drew Rosenhaus, did not speak with reporters yesterday. He would like to be traded in lieu of a contract adjustment, but there seems to be no momentum right now toward either outcome. Sheppard might need to stay healthy and play well for the Eagles this season, then renew his push.
Westbrook, who piled up a franchise record 2,104 total yards last season, is much less replaceable, and you get the feeling he knows that. Asked if reporting meant he was here for the duration, Westbrook said:
"I'm here now, hopefully for good. It remains to be seen; I can't foresee the future. Hopefully, things go well and we get a deal done."
Someone wanted to know if he had come to camp happily or reluctantly.
"I'm here,"
Westbrook said. "Whether I'm reluctant, I'm still here. I'm coming here to be here with my teammates, to compete for a job, and do everything I can to help this team win."
Westbrook said his contract requirements, to replace the 5-year, $25 million extension he signed in 2005, have been misrepresented. In a recent Inquirer interview, Westbrook said that if the top running back guarantee was the $25 million (actually, it was $21 million) LaDainian Tomlinson got (in 2004), then a back playing at that level today should get a $30 million guarantee. During Westbrook's agent search, there has been talk of him trying to get an agent to say he could get Westbrook a $30 million guarantee.
"I've heard so many things. I've interviewed a few agents. I think the agents I did not hire have put out a lot of vicious rumors; they're trying to ruin my credibility . . . It's messed up, how it happened,"
said Westbrook, who turns 29 in September, at a position where superstardom past 30 is rare. Tomlinson was 25 when he signed his deal. "I didn't mention that as a figure I was necessarily looking for. It was as an example . . . an extreme example, of how contracts work over the years . . . I haven't put any numbers out there."
Though Westbrook has nursed knee problems that have limited his practice reps the past few years, he said he believes his elusive style keeps him from taking career-shortening hits. "I think I can be very effective as an NFL running back for a long time,"
he said.
Earlier in the day, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg might have given France a quote he can use in negotiations.
"I think he's vastly underrated,"
Mornhinweg said, when asked about Westbrook. "I think he's a great player for us, and I think he's even more valuable for us [than he would be to a team with a different offense]. He does many things and he does them all very well, he does them all at a high level. He's a dynamite player."
Westbrook said he wasn't sure how well his feelings about his contract were conveyed to the team last season by his previous agent, Fletcher Smith. France, based in Atlanta, has done some huge free-agent deals, such as the 8-year, $80 million contract corner Nate Clements got from San Francisco last year. France hasn't been involved in a lot of high-profile reworkings of deals, another agent, not involved in Westbrook's situation, said yesterday.
"He's not going to accomplish anything for Brian that Fletcher Smith couldn't have done,"
that agent said. "But I don't think Fletcher got anything [in 2005, following Westbrook's first agent switch] that Tony Agnone couldn't have gotten."
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