The Peppers Problem

When Julius Peppers announced that he wanted out of Carolina, he wasn’t kidding. The seven-year Panther has made it clear that when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 16 days he’s heading straight to anywhere but Charlotte, and this leaves the Panthers more than a little at a disadvantage. When Peppers leaves Carolina in two weeks, the Panthers will lose all they have invested in him and won’t get anything in return for his departure. Unless, that is, they don’t just simply let him walk.

A few things could happen for the Panthers to gain a little something for losing Julius Peppers, and the first way this would be possible would be if the Panthers slap the franchise tag on the DE. This, of course, would be extremely expensive considering this would cost them upwards of $16.9 million, and it would also hinder the team’s cap space with the upcoming draft, but it would also keep Peppers as a pawn for the Panthers. Another option for the team would be to franchise and trade Peppers, which is what will likely happen in the next few weeks. In this case, the Panthers would hit Pepp with the franchise tag and hope to trade him for a first round draft pick – depending on the team that gets him and how bad they want the All-Pro player. Another less favorable option for the Panthers would be to simply let Peppers walk, but that wouldn’t be so much fun, would it?

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