Put yourself in Clinton Portis’ cleats for a moment, preferably the all-black models that, nonconformist that he is, he once got fined for wearing. You’re 29 years old – or more accurately, 9,923 rushing yards old – and your body keeps giving off these not-so-subtle signals that the end is near.

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Last year it was a concussion and its fuzzy aftermath. This year it’s a wrist injury and, more recently, a torn groin muscle. You just can’t seem to stay healthy, can’t put up the numbers you used to put up, can’t be YOU.

In the Tennessee game, you take a handoff from Donovan McNabb, start running to the right on one of Mike Shanahan’s signature stretch plays and . . . the burst isn’t quite there. You pick up 11 yards, sure – enough for a first down at the Titans’ 20 – but a few years ago, when you were still going to Pro Bowls, you likely would have gained more.

Before the first quarter is over, you’re done for the day – after just six carries (one nullified by a penalty), one reception and 46 yards. Your groin has begun bothering you again, and you just don’t want to push your luck any farther. You probably shouldn’t have played at all, but your club was in such desperate straits after getting clobbered by the Eagles that you simply had to suit up.

And now, as an added bonus for your self-sacrifice, the Redskins are putting you on injured reserve for the rest of the season. When the Vikings are in town this weekend, you’ll be wearing street clothes and That Distant Gaze. At this point, it’s not just possible, it’s probable you’ve played your last game in a Washington uniform.

It’s hard for a running back to age gracefully. Once his special set of skills begins to erode – speed, agility, endurance, what have you – he usually isn’t long for the NFL. Think of how quickly it was over for Eddie George, Shaun Alexander, Edgerrin James, Terrell Davis and so many others. It was almost like somebody pulled a plug.

It isn’t that way at other positions. A defensive end, as he gets older, can become a designated pass rusher. An aging offensive tackle can slide over to guard – or move from the left side to the less difficult right. But you don’t often see a feature back reincarnated as a situational back. He generally runs until he drops (or in the case of Tiki Barber, until he lands a job on “The Today Show”).

Heck, the Redskins had three backs -- Portis, Larry Johnson and Willie Parker -- in camp this summer in this stage of life. Parker, who had yet to turn 30, didn’t survive the final cut; Johnson, a year older, was terminated after just two games; and Clinton, the youngest of the bunch (he won’t hit the Big Three-O until next September) has looked like a shell of his former self.

How many of you – outside of Sheriff Gonna Getcha and the various other Portis personae – think No. 26 will still be around next season? It’s hard to believe Shanahan won’t want to turn the page, won’t want more reliability at a position that, so far, has been a revolving door. And how brutal would that be? Portis needs just 649 yards to pass John Riggins (7,472) and become the club’s all-time leading rusher. He’s also a mere 77 yards shy of 10,000, a milestone only 24 backs have reached.