ATRAIN
02-19-2009, 03:20 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/02/19/gross/index.html
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The Carolina Panthers placed the franchise tag on defensive end Julius Peppers on Thursday, setting up a potential battle with the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end who wants to play elsewhere next season.
The move came moments after the Panthers signed All-Pro left tackle Jordan Gross to a six-year deal. Having locked up Gross, the Panthers then placed the restrictive tag on Peppers, who had said he would request a trade under that scenario.
"They tagged him," Peppers' agent Carl Carey wrote in a text message.
While Carolina will be required to offer Peppers a one-year guaranteed deal worth $16.7 million, no other team could sign Peppers without giving up two first-round picks to Carolina.
Placing the tag on Peppers theoretically allows the Panthers to trade him and get some compensation for the cornerstone of their defense. But Peppers has power because no team would likely trade for him without first securing a long-term contract agreement.
A person close to Peppers on Wednesday said he would agree to be traded to only four teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, who do not hold a first-round pick. So the Panthers face the prospect of not being able to work out a trade and then having Peppers either hold out or be disgruntled while eating up a giant portion of the salary cap with his nearly $17 million salary.
NFL teams can place the franchise tag on just one player, so the Panthers were scrambling to come to terms with Gross before the Thursday afternoon deadline. If Carolina couldn't reach a deal, they would have faced a difficult decision of which Pro Bowl player to tag.
If they didn't tag Gross, they could have possibly lost both players.
Terms of Gross' deal were not immediately available, but he's expected to become one of the NFL's highest-paid offensive lineman.
Gross, Carolina's first-round pick in 2003, played last season under the franchise tag in a one-year, $7.45 million deal. Gross, who made his first Pro Bowl and was voted a first-team All-Pro last season, said he wanted to stay in Carolina and was the key cog in an improved offensive line that helped running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart have breakout seasons.
"We are very pleased to have Jordan signed for the long term," general manager Marty Hurney said. "He has developed into one of the premier tackles in the NFL and enables us to develop continuity along the offensive line. We are extremely pleased that he will remain a Panther."
The moves mean that all five starters on the line are locked up in long-term deals. The defensive line, meanwhile, is in flux.
Peppers, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 draft, is a freakish athlete and Carolina's career sacks leader. But Peppers has also been criticized for inconsistent play -- he had a career-high 141/2 sacks this past season, but a career-low 21/2 the year before that.
Even in 2008, Peppers didn't record a single tackle against Denver and was shut down in Carolina's upset loss to Arizona in the playoffs.
Peppers, who turned down a lucrative contract extension before the start of last season, has said he would like to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense instead of staying in Carolina's 4-3 alignment.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The Carolina Panthers placed the franchise tag on defensive end Julius Peppers on Thursday, setting up a potential battle with the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end who wants to play elsewhere next season.
The move came moments after the Panthers signed All-Pro left tackle Jordan Gross to a six-year deal. Having locked up Gross, the Panthers then placed the restrictive tag on Peppers, who had said he would request a trade under that scenario.
"They tagged him," Peppers' agent Carl Carey wrote in a text message.
While Carolina will be required to offer Peppers a one-year guaranteed deal worth $16.7 million, no other team could sign Peppers without giving up two first-round picks to Carolina.
Placing the tag on Peppers theoretically allows the Panthers to trade him and get some compensation for the cornerstone of their defense. But Peppers has power because no team would likely trade for him without first securing a long-term contract agreement.
A person close to Peppers on Wednesday said he would agree to be traded to only four teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, who do not hold a first-round pick. So the Panthers face the prospect of not being able to work out a trade and then having Peppers either hold out or be disgruntled while eating up a giant portion of the salary cap with his nearly $17 million salary.
NFL teams can place the franchise tag on just one player, so the Panthers were scrambling to come to terms with Gross before the Thursday afternoon deadline. If Carolina couldn't reach a deal, they would have faced a difficult decision of which Pro Bowl player to tag.
If they didn't tag Gross, they could have possibly lost both players.
Terms of Gross' deal were not immediately available, but he's expected to become one of the NFL's highest-paid offensive lineman.
Gross, Carolina's first-round pick in 2003, played last season under the franchise tag in a one-year, $7.45 million deal. Gross, who made his first Pro Bowl and was voted a first-team All-Pro last season, said he wanted to stay in Carolina and was the key cog in an improved offensive line that helped running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart have breakout seasons.
"We are very pleased to have Jordan signed for the long term," general manager Marty Hurney said. "He has developed into one of the premier tackles in the NFL and enables us to develop continuity along the offensive line. We are extremely pleased that he will remain a Panther."
The moves mean that all five starters on the line are locked up in long-term deals. The defensive line, meanwhile, is in flux.
Peppers, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 draft, is a freakish athlete and Carolina's career sacks leader. But Peppers has also been criticized for inconsistent play -- he had a career-high 141/2 sacks this past season, but a career-low 21/2 the year before that.
Even in 2008, Peppers didn't record a single tackle against Denver and was shut down in Carolina's upset loss to Arizona in the playoffs.
Peppers, who turned down a lucrative contract extension before the start of last season, has said he would like to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense instead of staying in Carolina's 4-3 alignment.