Two years after signing a six-year deal that was scuttled by his former team with four years remaining, Eagles running back Brian Westbrooks’s deal with his new team covers only one year and, according to Jason La Canfora of NFL Network, is worth only $1.25 million.
Per La Canfora, the Rams offered Westbrook more money.
The deal has another $1.25 million available in incentives (or, possibly, per-game roster bonuses).
And here’s the key. If, as we strongly suspect, none of the base salary is guaranteed, Westbrook could be cut before Week 1, if the 49ers have any doubt about the aging veteran with a banged-up knee and a bumped-up noggin. If he’s on the active roster when the regular season begins, the $1.25 million becomes essentially guaranteed, under the termination pay provision of the NFL’s labor deal.
And so we continue to believe that there’s a very real chance Westbrook won’t be on any team’s roster when the regular season begins. He very well could be on a roster come Week 2, but there’s a still a good chance he won’t be as of Week 1.
From the Niners’ perspective, however, keeping Westbrook around could be worth the risk, especially since the bonus money they get back from Glen Coffee will cover much of Westbrook’s salary.
UPDATE: Surprisingly, the full base salary of $1.25 million is guaranteed. So apparently he will be on the Week 1 roster, unless he lands on injured reserve.