By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor
Julius Peppers no longer wants to stay in Carolina, saying the team has ignored him since the Panthers ended their incredibly successful 8-8 season.
Peppers was franchised last year, but he’s looking forward to leaving town.
“How can you say you want to be somewhere when you’re not really sure if they want you there because they’re not even talking to you?” Peppers said in a radio interview this week.
The Eagles have been mentioned as a possible destination for Peppers. At 30 years of age, he knows the door is starting to close and this will be his last big payday. The Eagles are a team with a chance to win a title if they plug a couple of key holes — defensive end being one of them. The team also has been known to aggressively pursue players it truly wants.
Matching Peppers and Trent Cole together on the same line should have Andy Reid and Sean McDermott salivating.
The door is open for the Eagles to pursue Julius Peppers.
The opening is there, unless…
The Panthers could again franchise their stud lineman with 81 career sacks to his name. In an uncapped season, which 2010 will be, it’d be foolish not to tag him. The Panthers would have to pay Peppers the average of the top five at his position, which was $16.6 million last year. On the open market, he’d probably command $25 million in a front-loaded deal with a team like the Redskins or Cowboys.
Instead, the Panthers very well could slap the tag on Peppers and then try to initiate a sign-and-trade deal. If that’s the case, the Eagles may want to talk to Carolina who is in the market for a quarterback. The Birds seem to have a surplus at that position.
We’re not saying the Eagles will get him, or even that they should since Peppers has been inconsistent at times in his career. However, the door is open if Reid wants to pursue him.
