Less than 2 months ago, when Westbrook underwent a surprise cleanout of bone chips in his ankle, nobody would have predicted that the Birds' franchise running back returning for the third preseason game wouldn't be a huge story. We were assured by some media outlets that Westbrook wouldn't play at all in the preseason, and would be doing well to be healthy by the Sept. 13 season opener. But Westbrook returned to limited practice nearly 2 weeks ago, quickly transitioned to full practice, and now will get at least some game action. He almost certainly will sit out next week's preseason finale at the Jets, as will all the starters.
"I'm kind of excited to see the way he plays, the way he thinks, the way he runs, different defenses, the way he approaches it, the way he blocks," said rookie running back LeSean McCoy, who has taken the bulk of the training-camp reps, both in practices and in games. "I'm not sure [how much Westbrook will play]. Lately we've been kind of just splittin' reps . . . He's going to have a big load this year, like always. Sort of getting him back into the flow of the game, the speed of the game."
Westbrook declined to hold his scheduled weekly news conference Monday and did not answer questions yesterday. A team spokesman said he wants to play before he speaks again.
Of course, everyone is eager to see how the Westbrook-McCoy tandem works out, what the roles will be, ultimately. When Westbrook is able to suit up, Reid's tendency has been to forget he has any other running backs, even when Westbrook is obviously hobbled, as he was much of last season.
