Westbrook and Tomlinson Released

What does the future hold for LT and Westbrook?

Two high profile running backs were released within two days of each other because of a combination of age and injuries. Brian Westbrook of the Philadelphia Eagles and LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers were both dropped by their respective teams.

Normally the releasing of NFL players is not a big deal, it happens all the team and the shelf life of pro football players is exceedingly low. But Westbrook and LT aren't just any ol' running backs. They're not even good running backs. These guys were studs. Just a few years ago they would be the first players taken in a fantasy football draft. In 2007 Westbrook led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 2,104 and 4 years ago Tomlinson had a record setting 31 TDs.

What is the NFL becoming with LT no longer a Charger and Westbrook no longer an Eagle? More importantly, what will the first and second round of fantasy football drafts look like with these guys either out of the league or in an obviously decreased role? It seems like only a few years ago that the top 3 fantasy RBs were LT, Shaun Alexander and Larry Johnson. Now LT was released by the Chargers, Shaun Alexander is slower than molasses and I don't even know what happened to LJ after that homophobic remark he made in the middle of a terrible season. And even more recently Westbrook was a terror in fantasy if you didn't own him. I vividly remember 2 years ago how every game Brain Westbrook had the potential to score 3 TDs with 100 yards rushing and receiving.

The release of these 2 big name RBs tells us a lot about organizations dealing with aging and oft injured players. Teams aren't worried about parting ties with the face of their franchise if they sense that they're on the decline. But look at the Packers and what happened to Brett Favre, maybe they have a couple more good years left in the tank. Another thing to take away is how brief an NFL career is. In the MLB, a great player will play 15-20 years, in the NBA it seems like 10-15. But the brutality of the NFL leads to more injuries which leads to maybe a 10 year career for great RBs. Quarterbacks are different, they are, for the most part, shielded from the violence of the game and can play longer.

What will next year's fantasy draft look like without LT and Westbrook? Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles and Jonathan Stewart at the top of the draft? The years of LT being the fantasy king are now officially over.