The Redskins are expected to release defensive backs Matt Bowen and Walt Harris, tackle Brandon Noble and center Cory Raymer, which would create about $7 million in cap space. They also are expected to trade Ramsey (for draft picks) and cut place kicker John Hall, which would free up $3.2 million more. Defensive end Renaldo Wynn, and wide receivers James Thrash and Taylor Jacobs could be sacrificed as well.

Even those moves would leave the team about $10 million over the cap, and that is where the restructurings come in. With a collective bargaining extension, the team could convert base salary to bonuses for Jansen and Brunell, and save another $5 million by spreading those bonuses over several years. The lack of an extension would make this much more difficult.

Some in the NFL believe Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is particularly torn by the collective bargaining impasse. Snyder needs a new labor deal to ease the team's cap issues in 2006. But he also has spent heavily on free agents in the past and, if an extension is not completed, there would be no salary cap in 2007. That would allow him to spend as lavishly as he likes on new players.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

Snyder is also at the vanguard of a movement by some owners to protect more of their locally generated revenue from the league's revenue-sharing program -- an issue that has divided NFL owners. But his need for an extension of the collective bargaining agreement in the short term could temper his aggressiveness in pushing that platform.

Redskins Notes: A hearing took place Wednesday in the NFL Players Association's investigation into Carl Poston, Arrington's agent, during which Arrington spoke on Poston's behalf, league sources said. A ruling in the matter, which could result in a fine or suspension for the agent, has not been made, and an appeal could follow . . . The mother of Redskins running back Clinton Portis is being sued for an altercation with a fan at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field last season. Lisa Walker is suing the star's mother, Rhonnel Y. Hearn, in federal court in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Hearn was moved to the Redskins' sideline after striking someone she claimed had doused her with beer, and after the game Portis said his mother had bloodied the nose of an unruly fan. Walker's lawyer says she was not responsible for the thrown beer.

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