Eagles RB Westbrook misses practice again

Sep 26, 2008 - 6:32 PM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook did not practice for the third straight day Friday, keeping his status for Sunday's night game at Chicago uncertain.

Westbrook is listed as questionable due to a strained right ankle suffered in last Sunday's 15-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"He's getting better every day," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "We'll see how he does here, over the next couple days. I mentioned before that it's going to go right to the wire there. We'll see how he does."

There was better news concerning Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb, who on Friday practiced for the first time this week and is expected to start against the bears (1-2).

The five-time Pro Bowl selection had not thrown a pass since Sunday's game, when he suffered a chest contusion on the final play of the first quarter.

"(McNabb) felt good," Reid said. "We'll see how he does here. During the practice, he felt good."

McNabb obviously would prefer to be joined by Westbrook, who is a key cog in the Philadelphia offense - the seven-year veteran led the NFL with 2,104 yards from scrimmage last season and has five touchdowns this year.

Westbrook missed most of last Sunday's victory after suffering the injury on the first play of the second quarter. Without the All-Pro, the Eagles (2-1) sputtered offensively throughout the majority of the slugfest with the Steelers.

The team likely will turn to Correll Buckhalter if Westbrook is unable to play. Buckhalter, who has been plagued by knee injuries for the majority of his career, scored the only touchdown during last Sunday's win over Pittsburgh.