Peppers: Let him go, and get draft picks
Jan 17, 2009
Julius Peppers has recorded his first sack of 2009.
This time, he smacked down the Carolina Panthers.
Saturday’s stunning announcement that he does not want to continue with Carolina continues a shocking run of hard news for a franchise that looked like a Super Bowl contender only weeks ago.
First, the Panthers announced owner Jerry Richardson needed a heart transplant.
Then, a chance to never leave Bank of America Stadium en route to the Super Bowl unraveled in an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The game only highlighted the erratic play of Jake Delhomme, the Panthers’ inability to pair a strong receiver with Steve Smith and a Carolina defense that was good but by no means great.
The Panthers are now in a startling bind as they need to rebuild their defense, find fresh blood at quarterback and figure out what to do with their best player.
The issue with Peppers, however, is simple. Professional teams can’t afford to let their best players walk away as free agents. NFL teams can put the franchise tag on one player per season, and the Panthers have two key free agents in offensive tackle Jordan Gross and defensive end Peppers.
First, the Panthers should sign Gross to a long-term deal, and the sooner the better. Carolina’s best seasons have always come when the Panthers had great offensive lines. With Gross back, the Panthers have a strong blocking corps in front of a pair of magnificent running backs.
Second, the Panthers should franchise Peppers – but make him a non-exclusive franchise player, not exclusive. An exclusive tag means the player is committed to the team for one more season and can’t negotiate with other clubs.
A non-exclusive tag means the player can negotiate with other teams. If the player signs with another club, the first team can match the offer, or decline it and get two first-round picks in return.
Assuming Peppers is adamant about leaving Carolina, making him a non-exclusive franchise player would allow him to sign with another team – and get two first-round picks in return.
The history of professional sports is full of athletes who insisted they wanted to leave a team – and then happily signed a big-time contract to stay. So there’s always the chance Peppers is bluffing. But this doesn’t have that feel – he consistently refused to discuss his long-term future with Carolina, and despite the fact that he is from Bailey and played at UNC, he may be ready to perform in another part of the world.
Carolina has a battery of needs, as the Arizona game showed. And the Panthers don’t have a first-round pick this year after trading it away to get Jeff Otah in 2008. So their ability to rebuild is limited.
Getting two first-round picks for Peppers would make sense. Keeping him at a franchise price would cost $17 million against the cap, a whopping figure that would limit Carolina’s ability to sign free agents.
Getting two first-round picks – and opening up salary-cap room – would make more sense.
At all costs, Carolina can’t let Peppers walk away. The blows from the season were painful enough. But that was only beginning, as on Saturday, Peppers poured a heavy dose of salt in Carolina’s wounds.
