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Peppers unlikely to be traded

Barring a dramatic change, Julius Peppers isn't going anywhere.

With draft day Saturday, Peppers, a Pro Bowl defensive end, is still a member of the Carolina Panthers, albeit as a franchise free agent.

No trade is in sight and the team is moving forward with plans that he'll be back next season.

Neither the New England Patriots nor the Philadelphia Eagles, two teams Peppers was interested in playing for, have shown a willingness to surrender the mega-trade package necessary to acquire him from Carolina and give him a top-market contract.

Since Peppers hasn't signed the tender offer he received from the Panthers when they franchised him, they can't trade him under rules of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement.

By not signing the tender before the draft, Peppers was able to make sure the Panthers didn't try to trade him to a team for which he did not want to play.

Once the draft passes, the question becomes how long Peppers will wait before signing his tender.

The Panthers don't expect him to hold out.

An early indication of his intentions will be whether he attends Carolina's post-draft minicamp starting May 1. Peppers' agent, Carl Carey, hasn't responded to text and telephone messages today.

Even though it appears Peppers won't get his wish of playing elsewhere next season, he's not exactly left in a lurch.

The tender offer awaiting his signature is for $16.683 million for the 2009 season – an average of more than $1 million per game, which stands to make him the highest paid defensive player in the league.

The Peppers saga began in January when he announced, first through Carey, that he was ready to end his career with the Panthers and believed he could best maximize his potential by moving to another team.

Peppers later turned in a list of four desired designations. Dallas and New England were confirmed, and all indications are that Philadelphia was another.

Though the news about Peppers created a furor among Panthers fans and in the media, team officials were determined not to over-react and to do what was best for the organization.

Even though they were disappointed by Peppers' position, they chose to let the situation play out slowly, knowing they could limit his options severely by placing the franchise tag on him.

Carey and Peppers hoped to avoid the franchise tag, especially since the Panthers entered February with all-pro left tackle Jordan Gross unsigned.

But the Panthers signed Gross and franchised Peppers just hours before the Feb. 19 4 p.m. deadline, and Peppers' camp has gone quiet since.

All along, team officials tried to maintain an even-tempered approach to what easily could have become a volatile situation.

“You have to take into account there is a business side to this (game) and a playing side,” general manager Marty Hurney said earlier this week. “My job is to deal with both of them.

“Anytime you're in a competitive business, in a competitive atmosphere, there are a thousand scenarios where it would be easy to get emotional, but you learn there are many sides to things in this sport and this business.”

What's been unusual about this “dispute” is that neither side has said anything derogatory about the other. Both did what they believed they had to do from a business standpoint, but were careful not to let the situation get personal.

As a result, there's reason to believe the two sides can successfully move forward.

Hurney didn't subscribe to the widespread perception that Peppers was so miserable playing for the Panthers that he would force his way out even after getting franchised.

“You go by what you know about him,” Hurney said of Peppers. “We know Julius. It's been a very positive relationship.”

The Panthers know Peppers may have to deal with some disappointment, but they don't expect it to adversely affect his performance next season.

“I'm sure there's an emotional side for him, too,” said Hurney.

LINK >> Peppers unlikely to be traded | CharlotteObserver.com

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