Panthers must look to trade Peppers
Feb 20, 2009
The Carolina Panthers are talking tough now that they've made Julius Peppers a franchise player, but the hard words don't cover up the fact that the Panthers are in a difficult spot.
Carolina must look to trade Peppers, and do so aggressively. To try to bring him back risks both a holdout - which would be devastating - and the potential loss of an All-Pro player with no compensation.
Long-time Panthers fans know what a holdout can do to the team. In 1996, the Panthers made a run to the NFC title game with a defense that featured the stellar play of outside linebackers Lamar Lathon and Kevin Greene.
But Greene, who'd been brought in off the trash heap by coach Dom Capers, decided he was underpaid. He skipped the summer workouts in Charlotte in June, then refused to report for training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., in July. Carolina went into the season without him and suffered a disastrous start as Capers' 3-4 defense lacked its previous bite.
The Panthers finally cut Greene, who promptly signed with arch-rival San Francisco.
What had the potential to be a great season turned into a flop for a variety of reasons. But the Greene holdout set a tone of selfishness for the 1997 season, whereas the year before had been one of remarkable camaraderie.
Peppers' stance could be just as divisive. Oh, there will be plenty of comments in the coming months about how the Panthers won't allow this to be a distraction, but it rarely works that way in sports.
The worst-case scenario for Carolina is that Peppers holds out. But wait, you say, he's scheduled to make $16 million next season as a franchise player - who could ignore enough cash to bail out Bolivia? But stranger things have happened in sports, and a Peppers holdout would be crippling for Carolina.
First of all, the Panthers' defense isn't that great with Peppers and would be substandard without him. Second, Carolina would risk losing Peppers with no compensation, an absolute cardinal sin in professional sports.
The prospects aren't much brighter even if he returns. Peppers would still chew up a substantial amount of room in Carolina's $123 million salary cap, making it difficult for the Panthers to close other roster gaps.
Then, he could walk away after the season, and the future for the Panthers in 2010 and beyond look pretty dismal.
Carolina is a strong NFL franchise - well-run, with an impressive stadium and a loyal fan base. Plenty of players enjoy competing in Charlotte and living in the Carolinas. But there always has been a hint of arrogance within the Panthers organization, and that could be deadly in this case.
Carolina may believe Peppers eventually will see the light.
I suspect, instead, this franchise is about to get blindsided.
