Memo to Julius Peppers: You're Going Nowhere

The issue of Julius Peppers has died down a bit as it appears there are no teams willing to pay the steep price to acquire him. Personally, I feel the Panthers never had any intentions of trading Peppers and have had the mentality that they'll just wait this out. Peppers has the following options to consider.

1. Sit Out- If Peppers were to sit out training camp and the regular season it would prove he really wants out. This is unlikely to happen due to the fact that he will make over one million a game this season. Not to mention Peppers isn't going to get any younger so it's hard to see him giving up a year in order to prove a point.
2. Play Hard- If Peppers really wants to get out of Carolina the best thing he can do is to go out and have a monster season. He needs to prove to the other 31 teams in the league that he is worthy of his price tag. I would be careful of paying a guy a huge sum of money who has a knack for disappearing in big games and just two years ago had a measly two and a half sacks.
3. Pack It In- It's very plausible Peppers could go through the motions and not give it his all. Could his unhappiness in Carolina explain his 2007 season or how it's clear he doesn't go hard every play? Maybe, but if that's the case it's scary to think what will happen in 2009 when he's made it public that he wants out.

It's clear with the re-signing of Jake Delhomme and trading next years first-round draft pick to move up to get Everett Brown, that Panthers management feels this team is close to winning a championship. Losing a player as talented as Peppers would severely hinder these championship hopes.

It appears that the Panthers are going to take one more shot at a Super Bowl with Peppers. Hopefully, he'll handle the situation like a pro and rise to the challenge.