No Hurry in Peppers Deal, Says Hurney

We reported yesterday on the latest news on the Julius Peppers front – which is absolutely nothing. No moves have been made to clear Peppers out of Charlotte, and Marty Hurney, the general manager of the Carolina Panthers, has backed up our suspicions that Peppers might have to spend one more dreadful year in Carolina. Because nothing has been worked out so far with the standout defensive end, the Panthers’ dwindling options basically come down to either trading Peppers for less profit than they expected or keeping him under wraps for one more year. The team has already been forced to let go of cornerback Ken Lucas and wide receiver D.J. Hackett to clear up salary cap space, and now GM Hurney is hinting that Peppers might actually be remaining with the Panthers for one more year.

Hurney recently made a statement to the media, saying, “We’ve known Julius for seven years, and it has been a good seven years. I think he knows how we feel, and we feel like he’s been happy here. And again, nothing has changed. We franchised him, and when we did, we knew there was a period for the process to take place. When that process goes through, then he’s going to be back.” Hurney seems confident about this development, and we’ll see shortly whether or not he’s right.

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