France did not return a phone call last night, but two NFL sources confirmed Westbrook's decision. One league source said the move probably would not become official until today because France must file paperwork with the NFL players union.

Westbrook fired agent Fletcher Smith last week after revealing that nine-month contract talks with the Eagles had reached a stalemate. Westbrook had spent the last few days talking with both France and JR Rickert, a 1988 graduate of Holy Cross High School in Delran.

France also represents Eagles linebacker Omar Gaither, a player likely to be targeted by the team for a long-term deal at some point this season. Rickert represents a number of Eagles, including running back Correll Buckhalter and center Jamaal Jackson.

One league source said that several agents shied away from taking on Westbrook as a client because they thought it would be too difficult to successfully meet his contract demands with the Eagles.

It is believed that Westbrook, who is in the third year of a five-year deal worth $24.9 million, is seeking a guaranteed $30 million over three seasons. The running back told The Inquirer that he deserves to be paid as well as San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson.

"If LaDainian got paid $25 million guaranteed in 2003 and now it's 2008, the next person needs to be paid $30 million guaranteed," Westbrook said. "It works its way up. You can't sit here and say, 'I'm as good as LaDainian right now and I'm getting paid five years after him . . . so I'll take $15 million. That doesn't make any sense."

Tomlinson's guaranteed money was actually $21 million, and he signed his eight-year, $60 million deal with the Chargers when he was 25. Westbrook will be 29 on Sept. 2, and age typically has not worked to the advantage of a running back in contract negotiations.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb tried to stay out of the potential firestorm yesterday after the team's morning workout at Lehigh University.

"I didn't hear about the whole situation until pretty much the day before I got here," McNabb said. "That part is none of my business."

The question now, of course, is whether Westbrook will report to training camp on time tomorrow with the remaining veterans. McNabb said he thought Westbrook would be here, and several sources who have been in contact with the running back also believed he would report.

Three's company

"We're going to roll those guys," Johnson said. "Lito will play left and right, Asante will basically play left, and Sheldon can play both. The main thing is we're going with all three of them on the field a lot. You never know - I might start the ball game with all three of them on the field. There are a lot of things we feel comfortable doing with those three guys. It'll work itself out. It's good competition."

Extra points

- Bob Brookover