The Carolina Panthers' Jordan Gross To Sign Up and Julius Peppers to Sign Out

With free agency rapidly approaching the Carolina Panthers have found themselves "over a barrel" by not having Jordan Gross already signed to a new contract and not having their, weapon of last resort, the "franchise tag," placed on Julius Pepper.

Peppers seemed to feel his team, of seven years, should focus all of their efforts and their all important "franchise tag" on Jordan Gross and not him. That would be a senseless move for any team to make in this situation.  A franchise cannot just let a first round draft pick simply walk away.

Peppers' career with the Panthers has been very successful, for the most part. However, Peppers' having only 2.5 sacks in 2007, while the Panthers paid him more than virtually any other player did not help Peppers' case.  Couple Peppers multi-million dollar contract and his lack of production in 2007 along with his occasional taking plays "off" and his seemingly carefree attitude while losing a close game all had a way of irritating many Panthers' fans and left many others wondering if the mult-imillion dollar salary and the restrictions that salary placed on the team were actually really worth all of the trouble.

Even though Peppers' carefree demeanor was generally taken out of context, the smiles and laughs Peppers displayed on the sidelines just did not sit well with many Panthers fans.  To many fans, having their team lose was no laughing matter.  It just seemed like the wrong thing for a star player to do. With that said I will not question Peppers' desire to win. I feel Peppers wants to win as much or more than 52 other guys on his team and his career numbers prove it. But the way he deals with adversity may just be to laugh it off, but many fans will never understand that and will always take it as an "I don't care" attitude.  I have heard fans say, more times than I can remember, "I would be laughing and smiling too if I was making almost a milion dollars per game just for playing football each week, even if I was losing!"  

Now, Peppers did bounce back in 2008, posting a career high 14.5 sacks. Last season's output would surely be the platform from which Peppers will base his negotiations for his future contract this year.

This current dilemma may get nasty as the Panthers will have their hand forced, one way or the other. Though Peppers may not want any part of the franchise tag, he is going to get it.

Peppers may well start dictating the teams he would be interested in going to and Peppers could threaten to sit out if the Panthers did not oblige him. Those are the occasional reactions a player goes though when contract talks fall apart or when a player wants out of a city but is controlled by the team.

Now, head coach John Fox and general manager Marty Hurney may have been born at night, but trust me, they were not born last night. I am sure Peppers' coming demands will bother them, but they will not fold to them.

I cannot see the Panthers' "brass" just allowing Peppers to play for any NFC team and even moreover, I cannot see any situation where he would be allowed to play for an NFC South opponent.

Peppers landing spot will most certainly have to be in the AFC. The Panthers' position in the Peppers deal will be finding a team with the best drafts available who are wanting to enter the Julius Peppers contest.

Peppers may well threaten to veto many of the Panthers' possible trade deals, he will do so at his own peril. Peppers would effectively be giving up, what is viewed by most who know physiology, as the best potential year of his career.

A typical male athlete will reach their peak production between the ages of 28-30. Following 30 years of age, production usually has a pretty sharp angle of decline. Would Peppers waste the prime season of career going forward, just to prove a point?

I cannot see it. Peppers has accumulated numbers that have him on an NFL Hall of Fame pace and a one year vacation during his "peak" prime would put a dent in a future bid as a hall of famer.

With the combine already here and and the draft right down the road, the Carolina Panthers have no first round draft pick, no superstar defensive end and they also have an All-Pro offensive lineman who now has the keys to the franchise's future in his hip pocket.

That is not exactly how the Carolina Panthers felt the 2009 offseason would start off but that is how things have turned out.

The rather precarious situation the Panthers find themselves in can be directly attributed to a surprise announcement by Julius Peppers.

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