Westbrook the Winner in Simon Slash?

By removing the franchise tag on Corey Simon, the Eagles have opened up $5.1 million worth of space on this season's cap. I would say its even money that this savings is applied to a contract extension for Brian Westbrook. With that kind of room, the Eagles can give him a signing bonus and, more importantly, load up this year's salary for cap purposes - a win/win for Westbrook and the Eagles. Westbrook gets up front money, the Eagles efficiently use their cap space, and the Eagles protect themselves down the road by reducing the future potential cap hit by loading up this year's contract rather than putting all the cash in the form of a signing bonus.

The other incentive for the Eagles is to send a locker room message. Westbrook wasn't happy, but he played ball. He signed the tender (he had no choice) and came to camp and played. He's been a model teammate. Just like the contract extension the Eagles gave Pinkston several years ago while dealing with the unhappy Duce Staley, I certainly expect a similar reward to B. Westbrook in the wake of the Simon parting.