According to a report by the Charlotte Observer, the Carolina Panthers and defensive end Julius Peppers are setting themselves up for dilemma in 2010 similar to the one they just went through this offseason.

The deadline for a team to sign a franchise player to a long-term contract ends today and apparently the Panthers and Peppers remain far apart on a deal. After he signed his one-year tender on June 24, the hope was that the two sides could come together on a long-term deal but so far, no such luck.

That means that the Panthers will face a similar problem next offseason when they’ll have to decide to either try and re-sign Peppers to a long-term deal, franchise him, or let him walk via free agency. Any one of the three options has its positives and negatives.

If Peppers wants to play elsewhere, then forcing Carolina to make another tough decision next offseason is smart. But if he wants to cash in on a massive contract before his playing days are over, the window to do so is closing considering he turns 30 next January.

Peter Schrager of FOXSports.com ranked the top 99 players for the 2009 season. (Get the “9� theme? That Peter Schrager, he’s so creative…)

Here’s top 9 (Get it? Do you get? Yeah, you get it…):

9. Julius Peppers, DE, Carolina Panthers: One of the best defensive ends in the game, Peppers was the force behind the Panthers’ magical ‘08 season. Still playing his very best, he’s one of the rare defensive players that can singlehandedly will a team to victory. With a new defensive coordinator, Carolina needs him in camp sooner rather than later. That deal needs to get done.

8. Jared Allen, DE, Minnesota Vikings: An absolute beast and arguably the NFL’s best pass-rushing defensive end since Michael Strahan, Allen made an already strong Minnesota defense even stronger in ‘08. A nightmare for offensive tackles and an inspired leader in the locker room, he’s emerged from a career riddled with off-the-field mishaps to become one of the league’s very best players.

7. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints: Is No. 7 overall a little high for a player who hasn’t played in a postseason game in two years? Perhaps. But there’s no doubting Brees’ skills, leadership and ability. Brees is a top-five quarterback in the league, and with some defense — just a little tiny bit — the Saints could be a top-five team in this league.

6. DeMarcus Ware, DE/LB, Dallas Cowboys: A three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Ware is only getting better with every passing year. The loss of free-agent DE Chris Canty could hurt, but the addition of former Falcons LB Keith Brooking may actually free up Ware even more.

5. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings: A.D. had an incredible sophomore season, tossing the Vikings on his back down the stretch and carrying them to an NFC North title. There’s no player in the league who has greater big-play potential, and he brings that big-play potential 25 times a game. Hands down the best running back in the league, he will be in the MVP conversation over the next decade of his career.

4. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals: Fitzgerald is the best receiver in the league. When it’s all said and done, he might end up being the best wide receiver to ever step on a football field. Yeah, I wrote it. If ‘08 was his breakout campaign and the Super Bowl his “Hello, America” game, I can only imagine what he has in store for us in ‘09. Gifted with superhuman hands, an uncanny skill set and leadership qualities of a field general, Fitzgerald is the single-most valuable non-quarterback heading into the 2009 NFL season.

3. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Say what you want about the strength of the Super Bowl champions’ defense, but Big Ben is unquestionably the true leader of the Pittsburgh Steelers. With two Super Bowl rings and three AFC championship game starts in just five NFL seasons, he’s one of the top three quarterbacks in the league. Win another one and he could be No. 1 on this list next year. Kick and scream all you want about it — Roethlisberger’s the real deal.

2. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots: Without Brady in ‘08, the Patriots had an impressive 11-5 season, just missing the playoffs by a nutty tiebreaker scenario. The ‘08 season was a testament to Bill Belichick, backup quarterback Matt Cassel and offensive guru Josh McDaniels. Two of the three won’t be back in ‘09. But Brady will be. That fact, alone, makes the Patriots the no-brainer favorite in the loaded AFC East.

1. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts: Though not the best in a statistical sense, Manning’s ‘08 campaign was arguably the most impressive season of his decorated 11-year career. Working behind a makeshift offensive line with injuries scattered across the depth chart at just about every position for much of the year — Manning led the Colts to the playoffs and another 12-win season after an uninspiring start to the season.

I don’t think you can argue much (okay, so there’s always room for arguing in sports) with his top 9, although he certainly didn’t go out on a limb in his top 5 did he? I don’t know about Peppers at No. 9 either. I know he’s in a contract year and could step it up a notch, but that’s an awfully high ranking for a player that takes his fare share of plays off during the season.

Schrager also has Shawne Merriman rated No. 19, which I think is a reach. He’s got John Abraham (who is often a one-man wrecking crew when he’s healthy) and Adrian Wilson (a massively underrated stud in Arizona’s secondary) rated No. 92 and No. 95, respectively, but he’s got Merriman (a player doctors believed may never play again after having knee surgery last year) at No. 19? Yikes.

He has several players rated way too low (No. 83 Calvin Johnson, No. 77 Chris Johnson, No. 56 Roddy White, No. 41 Reggie Wayne), and others way too high (No. 30 Ray Lewis, No. 24 Jordan Gross, No. 22 LaDainian Tomlinson, No. 16 Philip Rivers). But as with any player rankings, you can nitpick this to death.

The wait is finally over for the Panthers, as defensive end Julius Peppers will sign his tender on Wednesday according to the team’s official website. He’ll earn $16.683 million this season.

The Panthers could still try and trade him, but it’s doubtful that they find any suitors who will be willing to give up draft picks and long-term money. It’s more likely at this point that the Panthers sign Peppers to a long-term deal than trade him. Carolina wants to win now and with John Fox and GM Marty Hurney’s jobs seemingly on the line every year, draft picks for future years don’t help them in the present.

Peppers wanted to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme, but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. The Panthers hired Ron Meeks to replace Mike Trgovac as defensive coordinator and while Meeks isn’t necessarily a scheming genius, Dwight Freeney excelled under him in Indianapolis so Peppers could thrive in Carolina’s new scheme.

It’ll be interesting to hear what Peppers says once he reports to training camp in a month. If he’s going to be bitter all season about the Panthers franchising him, then it’s going to be a long year. But if he shows up hell bent on having a great year so he could hit the market and prove his free agent worth, then maybe both he and the team can get what they want out of the situation.

As expected, Panthers’ defensive end Julius Peppers didn’t show for the start of Carolina’s three-day minicamp.

The stalemate continued Friday with the four-time Pro Bowl selection, who wants to play elsewhere. But the Panthers have placed the franchise tag on him, limiting his options in free agency.

Because Peppers has not signed Carolina’s one-year, $16.7 million tender, he can’t be fined for missing the mandatory minicamp.

General manager Marty Hurney says Friday he’s had several conversations with agent Carl Carey and they’ve been “all positive.”

Second-round pick Everette Brown of Florida State got more reps in Peppers’ absence

Peppers not showing up for minicamp is hardly a story, but it could be a telltale sign that he won’t show up for training camp, which would make headlines. Carolina hired Ron Meeks in January to replace Mike Trgovac as defensive coordinator, so one would think that Peppers would be in camp come July in order to learn the new scheme.

But while head coach John Fox doesn’t seem concerned about his star defensive end not attending camps until July, at least one Carolina believes that he’ll show up until after the padded work is complete.

It would be very Michael Strahan of Peppers if he did that.

Despite a report yesterday by NFL.com’s Vic Carucci, the NFL Network’s Adam Schefter and NBCSports’ Tom Curran says that the Panthers are unlikely to trade Julius Peppers to the Patriots.

Communicating with two sources close to the “Peppers to Patriots” sandstorm that blew up suddenly Monday afternoon, I’ve learned…

1. Julius Peppers would indeed be interested in playing for the Patriots.
2. It’s a virtual certainty that he will not.

The sources, obviously coming from different sides of the issue, didn’t go into greater detail beyond what I’ve shared .. no talk about contracts, salary cap, compensation back to Carolina or fits in the Patriots defensive scheme. That is, as they say, what it is.

While the unlikelihood of the pieces falling together was something I looked at last night, Adam Schefter of NFL.com and the NFL Network was a morning guest on Boston’s WEEI and poured the first bucket of ice water on the notion.

Turns out – as it often does – Schefter was pretty accurate.

I wrote yesterday that since NFL.com was reporting the rumor, that the deal would likely get done. But I guess if it doesn’t come out of Schefter’s mouth, it probably isn’t true. Carucci doesn’t come off looking to good here.

According to Vic Carucci of NFL.com, the Patriots are trying to put together a trade package to acquire Julius Peppers from the Panthers.

According to league sources, the Patriots and Panthers are hoping to complete the deal at some point between the March 22-25 NFL owners meetings and the start of the draft on April 25.

Peppers, on whom the Panthers have placed a franchise tag that assures him of a one-year contract worth $16.68 million, would be converted to outside linebacker in New England’s 3-4 defense.

The Patriots already were looking ahead to the possibility of acquiring Peppers when they shipped Cassel and Vrabel to Kansas City, NFL sources say, because they wanted to clear the salary-cap space necessary to sign Peppers to a new contract that would put him among the higher-paid defensive players in the league. After signing Cassel to a one-year, franchise-tag tender contract worth $14.65 million, New England had nearly $30 million in cap money devoted to two quarterbacks (including $14.62 million for Tom Brady).

Once the Patriots were convinced that Brady would be fully recovered from the season-ending knee injury he suffered last year, they were comfortable with trading his replacement to the Chiefs and putting the wheels in motion to bolster a defense that has gotten particularly old at linebacker. Vrabel and fellow linebacker Tedy Bruschi are well into the twilight of their respective careers.

NFL sources say the Panthers would welcome the chance to unload Peppers for a second-round draft pick, even though it would be well below his market value, because it would be less costly than signing a first-rounder. The Panthers already have made some belt-tightening financial moves within their front office.

This, in part, could help answer the lingering question of why the Patriots were willing to take only a second-round pick for Cassel and Vrabel rather than possibly go for a higher choice as part of a three-way deal involving the Denver Broncos, who were ready to give up Jay Cutler for Cassel. Without an additional second-round pick, the Patriots might not be able to pursue Peppers.

This isn’t surprising news because as the article states, a trade scenario involving Peppers and the Patriots has been rumored for some time now. But what is surprising is that the Panthers would be willing to take a second rounder for Peppers when the compensation for a franchised player is two first round picks. Now granted, if a team is willing to take less, then they can work out a deal for whatever compensation is agreed upon. But a second rounder for Peppers seems weak.

If I’m Carolina, I’m demanding New England hand over the 23rd overall pick. There can’t be that much of a difference between paying the 23rd overall pick and the 34th overall pick (which the Patriots acquired from the Chiefs in the Cassel trade). But the talent level could be.

Regardless, this is an interesting rumor and if NFL.com is posting it, I’m willing to bet a deal gets done. The league’s site doesn’t post any rumors on a whim. And if he does wind up in New England, it’ll be interesting to see how Bill Belichick uses Peppers as a 3-4 outside linebacker. He and Adalius Thomas could make one hell of a pass-rushing tandem. (If Peppers is motivated, that is.)

In a surprising move, the Patriots traded veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs for an undisclosed draft pick. Vrabel was expected to take a lesser role with New England next year, so this move allows him to start in KC and be a mentor for a young Chiefs team.

On a related note, Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss is speculating that the Vrabel-to-KC-trade could be part of a bigger trade involving quarterback Matt Cassel.

2) Could this be part of a larger deal with the Chiefs that might involve Matt Cassel? The 33-year-old Vrabel was entering the final year of his contract in 2009. He was due to earn $2.2 million in base salary, would receive a $1 million roster bonus, and count $4.3 million against the salary cap.
Given Vrabel’s contributions to the Patriots — on the field and in the locker room — that doesn’t seem like much to digest.

So why make the deal?

From a Chiefs perspective, they had one of the youngest rosters in the NFL last season, and new general manager Scott Pioli understands the importance of veteran leadership in the locker room. Vrabel will provide that in Kansas City, likely as a team captain.

The question is why the Patriots would trade Vrabel.

Well, the Pats only save $3 mil in cap space with this move, so it couldn’t have just been about money. New England might have been toying with the idea of cutting Vrabel, so once they found a trade partner they jumped. At least they get compensation.

With free agency ready to kickoff this Friday, February 27, hope once again springs eternal for fans across the NFL.

But it seems like more than any other year, the free agent market this offseason has been picked bone dry before teams have even had the chance to grab their shopping carts.

Nnamdi Asomugha?

Sorry, off the market after re-signing with the Raiders.

Julius Peppers?

Franchised, but teams can probably have him for two first round picks, a gazillion dollars and a six yachts.

Terrell Suggs?

Likely staying put in Baltimore after being franchised.

Karlos Dansby? Brandon Jacobs? Matt Cassel? O.J. Atogwe? Darren Sproles? Antonio Bryant? Dunta Robinson?

All franchised.

Are there any players left on the market to get excited about? Absolutely, there are plenty of quality free agents available and bargains to be had. But as in previous years, there are a ton of risks, as well.

Below are five free agents that might command a decent amount of money this offseason, but will also be worth the heavy price tag in the end. I’ve also complied a group of five free agents that could turn out to be thieves this offseason by commanding big bucks, yet those investments may not pay off once teams start strapping on helmets and shoulder pads again.

- Against his wishes, the Panthers placed the franchise tag on defensive end Julius Peppers and have no intentions on trading him at this time according to GM Marty Hurney. Peppers has already stated publicly that he wants out of Carolina, but the Panthers were wise to tag him in order to gain compensation if they do trade him. Either way, this will be one of the most talked about storylines this offseason and things could get messy if Carolina stands firm on not trading him.

- The Charlotte Observer is reporting that the Falcons may be the leading contenders for free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, which makes sense given Atlanta’s need at the position. Haynesworth and John Abraham on the same defensive line? Shut your mouth…

- Speaking of the Panthers and all things Charlotte, Carolina signed left tackle Jordan Gross to a brand new six-year contract. The deal is worth nearly $60 million and includes $30.5 million in the first three years according to Rotoworld.com.

- The Steelers assigned left tackle Max Starks the franchise tag. He’ll receive a one-year deal worth $8.451 million if he signs the tender. Offenisve line was supposed to be a major weakness for Pittsburgh last season, but the unit gelled over the last month and a half of the season and obviously played well enough for the Steelers to win their second Super Bowl title in three years.

- In a rather surprising (although not shocking) development, the Falcons appear to be on the verge of re-signing outside linebacker Keith Brooking. At the start of the week, it looked as if Atlanta and the long-time veteran would part ways this offseason, but apparently the Falcons still value his leadership. This doesn’t guarantee that the team won’t draft a linebacker to push for the starting weak-side linebacker position, but at least the team is showing loyalty to a player that has served them well over his career. Brooking has definitely lost a step, but he’s a tremendous leader and could serve as a solid mentor for whoever the team brings in to supplement him in the future. This move might also signal that the Falcons won’t re-sign outside linebacker Michael Boley.

Julius Peppers is making it painfully clear that he does not want to be a Carolina Panther next season.

Q: If Carolina franchises you within the next week, what would be your recourse at that point? Have you told them you would not be showing up to minicamp or anything of that sort?

Peppers: If they decide to use the tag on me, the first thing I would be doing is requesting a trade. Anything after that is basically, I don’t know. I don’t know what would be the course of action. Basically, we would deal with that when that time comes.

Q: How did things get to this point? After seven years, what is it about the situation in Carolina, specifically, that you want to get away from?

Peppers: Seven years is a long time. Since I’ve been here, I’ve given everything I had. There’s never been a time when I wasn’t giving my all. Basically, it’s a situation I feel it’s a point in my career I just want to do different things. It has nothing to do with anything that happened between me and any coaches, me and the owners of this team. It had nothing to do with anything anybody did. It’s nothing that happened. I just feel like personally for me and m y career, it’s time for a change. That’s pretty much it.

If nothing else, you have to respect Peppers’ honesty. He’s not beating around the bush about what he wants and he’s not handing out any false hope. Some times in life you just need a change and sports are no different. Peppers wants a new challenge and he wants to seek employment elsewhere. If a person in a 9 to 5 said the same thing, a lot of people would respect that. But when it comes to athletes, we immediately want to say they’re not loyal or they’re ungrateful.

I don’t blame the Panthers for trying to do whatever possible to keep him. But it’s going to be tough.