Tag: Carolina Panthers (Page 20 of 34)

      Patriots trying to trade for Julius Peppers

      March 16, 2009 /

      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.)

      NFL

      Patriots trade Vrabel to Chiefs – will Cassel and Peppers eventually be part of the deal?

      February 27, 2009 /

      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.

      If you want to get really frisky, here’s a trade possibility that will no doubt make the ass hairs stand up for Patriot fans:

      Chiefs trade the No. 3 overall pick to the Patriots for Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel.

      The Patriots then turn around and trade the No. 3 overall pick to the Panthers for Julius Peppers, who they just made room for in their 3-4 scheme by trading Vrabel.

      A Peppers-to-Patriots deal has been rumored for about a week now – is it time to jump on the speculation train?

      NFL

      Peppers to request trade if Panthers try and tag him

      February 14, 2009 /

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

      Julius PeppersQ: 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.

      NFL

      Five ’08 NFL playoff teams with issues heading into ’09

      January 22, 2009 /

      Vinnie Iyer of SportingNews.com did an interesting piece on five NFL playoff teams who have big issues heading into the 2009 season.

      Ray Lewis1) Baltimore Ravens. Joe Flacco has had a great start to his career, but to take the next step as a quarterback, he probably could use a young receiver with No. 1 potential. The more pressing issues, however, are with Baltimore’s backbone, its defense. First, it’ll be a challenge to find a coordinator and play-caller to match Rex Ryan, who left to become head coach of the New York Jets…

      2) Philadelphia Eagles. To some extent, the Donovan McNabb question was answered, at least for the ’09 season. His support system may be different, however. Aging offensive tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan will be free agents. Top guard Shawn Andrews will need to come back from back surgery, and also may need to move outside. Backup running back Correll Buckhalter also wants to explore options out of Philadelphia. Defensively, stalwart safety Brian Dawkins could also walk…

      3) Carolina Panthers. Will Carolina need to address the quarterback position after Jake Delhomme’s six-turnover fiasco against Arizona in the divisional playoffs? It seems unfair to judge Delhomme on his first truly bad playoff game, when his play and leadership has been huge for the Panthers in the big picture. But still, with his age (34) and the fact he’s just one year removed from major elbow surgery, it might be time to draft a project passer to groom. In addition, Delhomme’s Pro Bowl left tackle, Jordan Gross, can become an unrestricted free agent….

      4) Indianapolis Colts. Tony Dungy and general manager Bill Polian were hoping for a smooth coaching transition with Jim Caldwell taking over, but it hasn’t been necessarily easy in the early going. Offensive coordinator Tom Moore, 70, and offensive line coach Howard Mudd, 66, nearly opted to follow Dungy into retirement. Defensive coordinator Ron Meeks flat-out resigned on Tuesday, and Caldwell fired special teams coach Russ Pernell. Caldwell isn’t a Dungy clone — there will be a different feel around the team….

      5) New York Giants. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo left to be head coach of the Rams, and there’s a chance offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride gets the same gig with the Raiders. The unit that Gilbride may leave behind has plenty of issues…

      Iyer goes into more detail on every team, so check out the entire piece.

      I agree on all of Iyer’s takes, although these problems are nothing new for any playoff team. Good teams have their coordinators stripped from them to become head coaches in other cities. Star players in contract years bolt for bigger paydays elsewhere, while other standouts get another year older or slower.

      All five of the above teams have the potential to face major change and that’s what makes them a risk not to make a repeat playoff appearance next year. The most interesting team is the Ravens because they have so many questions to answer about their defense, which has been their identity the past eight or nine years.

      NFL

      Julius Peppers wants to play for another team next season…as a linebacker.

      January 17, 2009 /

      According to his agent Carl Carey, Julius Peppers is not only ready to play for another team, but he also wants to stand up and play as an outside linebacker.

      Julius Peppers“Julius is ready to move on and play for another team,” agent Carl Carey said Saturday morning. “Julius has given a huge portion of his career and his time to the Carolina Panthers and he feels that he has done what he can do there. So this is more about him trying it another way. For him that means trying it outside of the Carolina Panthers.”

      When asked if that means Peppers doesn’t want to play for the Panthers again under any circumstance, Carey responded flatly, “That’s right. He’s ready to move on.”

      Carey said ideally Peppers wants to play in a 3-4 defensive system where he can stand up and roam the field as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker, similar to how the Dallas Cowboys use DeMarcus Ware and how the San Diego Chargers have used Shawne Merriman in the past before his injury.

      So basically he doesn’t want to have a lot of run responsibility, he just wants to rush the quarterback and compile as many sacks as he possibly can. At 6’7”, 283 pounds, Peppers would easily be the biggest linebacker in the NFL.

      It’s highly likely that the Panthers will franchise tag him and then attempt to trade him. Of course with his wish to play as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 system, Peppers just limited Carolina’s trading partners dramatically.

      NFL, Rumors & Gossip

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