Still No Signs of Movement for Peppers, Panthers

It seems as if the Carolina Panthers have slept through the entire free agency. Not one player from another team has been signed by Carolina since free agency started, and now (unless a trade comes – and fast) it looks like the Panthers will be the last team in the league to pick in Saturday’s NFL Draft. The only thing at this point that could change any of this is the possibility that Julius Peppers will be traded before Saturday, and everything hinges on the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end.

The Panthers have the 59th overall pick in the second round of Saturday’s draft, and that late in the draft the most coveted draft prospects will likely be long gone. Carolina’s 59th overall pick marks the first time since 1999 that the Panthers haven’t had a first round pick, and this isn’t likely to change unless something happens quickly with the Julius Peppers trade. Because Peppers still hasn’t signed his franchise tender, however, things are tricky with his situation – everything still has to go through his agent, meaning nothing will be easily resolved.

The best Peppers could milk for his trade would be two first-round draft picks, and though this situation seems unlikely, the Panthers are preparing for anything. Panthers GM Marty Hurney recently said he would continue scouting first round picks in the case that the Peppers stalemate ends, saying, “You always prepare for everything. This time last year before the draft I couldn’t have told you that we were going to have two first rounders. But I think you’re always looking do things in the draft. That is part of the fun of it and the challenge of it.”

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