By David Kaplan
Sources tell me the representative for premier free agent pass rusher Julius Peppers met with the Bears over the weekend.
To nab him, the Bears would have to offer one of the richest contracts in franchise history.
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man forreal .. were talkin bout julius peppers .. end of discussion make it happen peppers is by far the free agent to sign this offseason i dnt care what any of u say peppers is a beast and if the bears sign him it will be GREAT ..first cutler now peppers ? seems to me chicago is tryna do aanother "SHUFFLE" by the way go bulls!
Well this makes me happy. Glad to see Jerry not going to be shy with the wallet this season. Lets hope he lands Juiluis Peppers. Be a big boost to our team. and if he fails we could get a 1st and 2nd rounder maybe.?
Joe the Panthers already said they are letting Peppers walk, and the Bears where not the only team to talk with his agent. Stuff like this happens at the combine all the time. Because all the GM's are there, its very easy for Angelo to walk up to another GM who has a situation like the one we see with Peppers and be like is it ok if I speak with his agent. Your not breaking any nfl rule if the other team allows you access.
Wahington wants him, and so do the Eagles, I am surprised that the Raiders have not been mentioned, but I wouldn't be surprised if they jumped in the mix.
Other intresting news is that the Skins want to trade Haynesworth to free up money for Peppers and are offering a sweetheart deal. They just want the money off the books. So that may also be something the Raiders are watching. Maybe even the Vikings with one of the Williams wall thinking about retiring
Sign Peppers and Trade him to the Raiders in week 5 for a 1st round pick and Nande Nnamdi Asomugha!
Its kinda funny to read all the fans comments that want Kampman instead of Peppers because of Pepper's age. However, you morons fail to realize that KAMPMAN IS OLDER THAN PEPPERS! So, stop using age as an excuse.
Damani,
Teams cannot discuss a player currently under contract with another team, regardless of where that conversation takes place. Peppers is still the property of the Panthers until his contract expires at the end of the league year, tomorrow night at 11pm CST. The league did this to prevent these types of conversations, and keep teams from sniping other players while they are under contract to encourage hold-outs, trade demands, and outright releases.
If Peppers had been released, that would be another story. But at this point, the Panthers are riding out to the end of his contract, to see if there is something that can be done as far as keeping him with a long term deal. LT and Westbrook are currently street free agents, as is Pace, and those players are free to negotiate and discuss contract terms and whatever else they feel like with any team.
Get Aaron Kampman. If his knee is healthy, he would be a better addition to the Bears than over-the-hill and over-priced Peppers.
It hurts so bad yet feels so good to be a Bear fan. We'll go out there with the players and fans next year and sling it like we always do. So be it.
Dansch20, who cares what you have to say? You're just another homer tard who thinks big expensive names alone win football games. You're a penny by the million in Chicago.
Ciao Chicago, Peppers ? Yes would be exited to catch him...leave him, he is to expansive...i agree with Wilson, we need a DE,OL,FS, like i wrote last days, i think would be better trade our best players now, to build a young and strong team for next 2/3 years with new coaching staff and our superstar Jay Cutler, never over pay players ! I'd think to trade : Forte,Olsen,Hester and Briggs...and i'm sure at least 2 of them will be traded ! GO BEARS !
Gamble20 , Who cares what you think ? This team needs something to excite the fans about and Peppers , to me , would do it .Plus Rolle . And maybe Boldin .
Hey you know what;if peppers is willing to say I'll come to the chi if you promise to bring in another top d-fensive free agent like sharper who's a ball hawk and a corner back then let's do do this deal chi twn but if not say halla pepp hello to that guy from tennese titans can't spell his name but you know who i'm talking about.That guy is a beast so let's see what happens BEAR fans.
I'm a Panthers fan who followed Peppers for his entire career. He is an elite pass rusher. The question is at what cost, and for how long? He will only be elite (and by elite I say, top ten at his position.. he is NOT number 1 but arguably could be) for so long probably three more seasons is a safe bet. Could be 5 could be 2 you never know when your talking about 30 year old guys. Theres no doubt he is talented, but its not like Cutler. He has shown that last season is about as good as he gets. Change of scenery won't really do much and your not gonna make him any more talented at this age. My point is, do you really think a player of that age is worth that much money? I know you don't have a first or second, but thats not the same. Financially its somewhat comparable, but those are 21-23 year old guys. They could be the face of your franchise for 10-15 years. peppers has 5 years TOPS. That means NO WAY he's that good past that. Most guys are gone by 33. If I'm the Bears I'm gonna try and sign him, but if your getting towards Haynesworth territory (100 mil plus 40 guaranteed) I'd probably pass. 5 year deal worth about 65 million with 32 million in guarantees would be a pretty well valued contract.
Teams can speak with agents at combines to get a price range on a player. I don't think Peppers is still considered property of the Panthers since he has no contract with the team and he was not franchised! It is the same if the Bears talked to LT's or Westbrook's agent after they were cut. I believe the situation with the 49ers was deemed tampering because the player was still under contract with another team!
Mel Jr.,
I was thinking the exact same thing. Considering how we handled the Lance Briggs thing with the 49ers, teams are not going to hold back when it comes to filing charges against us. What goes around, comes around, and it's not like Jerry is well-liked in NFL circles.
If I remember right, we swapped third rounders with the Niners, and they lost a 5th rounder as a result of the charges. We cannot afford to drop any lower in the draft, or give up any more picks.
Everyone seems to think this goes on all the time, but meeting with the agent of a player who is still under contract with another team is just plain dumb. Hopefully the agent has a player who is on the Bears draft radar, or is already on the roster, so they can claim the discussion was not centered around Peppers. But if I were the Panthers, I would already be filing my complaint.
Frank Wilson, your a moron and no nothing about football. I think Peppers is a little overrated but he sure isn't past his prime.
You're going to compare Marty freaking Booker to Julius Peppers???? Unhave no idea what unr talking about. The examples you gave are all players well past their prime who didn't deserve vet
minimum contracts, let alone what the Bears have them. peppers is ELITE at his position. Elite. He's only had 2 seasons his entire career where he hasn't had double digit sacks.
Wouldn't that be considered tampering?
Palen for 2012
Hey if you going to pull the lever pull it on peppers we can sure use him BUT if he's going to suck all the money from other free agents then go after the other to guys because we need a saftey, maybe a corner, R.B.,and I like that T.E. from the chargers that 295Lbs blocker.So be careful but aggressive.
They don't learn. Booker, Mushammed, Pace, and Archuletta all were failures.
Want more? Yeah I got more. There is a long history of failed veteran free-agents.
Edgar Bennett, Joe Cain, Graham, Walsh, Jonathan Quinn, Mike Wells, Phillip Daniels and so on and so on.
Julius Peppers is a free-agent because like Pace he is past his prime and Lord knows what other things he has that might make him a mediocre player on the field.
In that case just resign Ogunleye.