Is Charles Tillman a Prime Candidate for an Extension?

On Twitter today, Brad Biggs floated the possibility of two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Charles TIllman getting an extension to take him into the twilight years of his career.

The idea behind giving the veteran ball-puncher an extension would be to free up some of the large salary cap hit he's due to benefit a somewhat-cap-strapped team.

He is due to earn a base salary of $7.95 million in 2013 with a workout bonus of $50,000 making his total cash value and cap number an even $8 million. The Bears could potentially lower that cap number by extending Tillman. The question is what kind of value will the club place on him moving forward and what kind of value does he place on himself?

It really depends how much the new deal would be worth, because not too often would a player coming off two straight Pro Bowls want to take less money than he's due in the coming year. That being said, putting him at around 6 million for 2013 would give the team an extra two million to breathe with as well as give him long term security for the rest of his career.

How much do you think Tillman has left in the tank? How much overall do you think the Bears could save by negotiating the extension?

How about a more interesting discussion point - where would you rank Tillman in importance on the future Bears, and which of the "big" players would you give up, if any, to retain Tillman?