Was Peppers worth it?

[Zaximus]

After now cutting Bridges, losing Frank Omiyale, and probably losing Hangartner, was signing Peppers worth it? Don't you guys think we could have done better just signing these guys with the cap money? I'm really worried about our oline now, really worried.

[littlebigman89]

I'm worried about the o.line depth too, but if they hadn't franchised him, he would have just left. You have to get something for him and that was the only way.

[mmmbeans]

they're gone because they are going to start elsewhere. the would've left either way.

[ashehudson]

Yes, it was worth it.

[ubecool454]

I bet the Panthers hate to do it but they will trade Peppers to Tampa Bay. It will suck to have to see him twice a year panther fans..lol. Tampa could get Peppers for a 1st rounder and still be active in Free agency with 60 million under the cap. I thought they would get Haynesworth for sure but I can see them coming after Peppers now. How did Tampa get so much money under the cap, have a good year and still fire the coach??????

[GotSwag?]

Def the right decision. Peppers you can either get something out of him or he plays and you have one of the best DE in the game on your team still.

We let Pepp walk so we can sign Hangartner and Omiyale - well, that would be stupid. We werent paying Omiyale 4 yr 11.5 mil and im sure Hangman will get a huge payday too..

No need to question the decisions weve made so far. GM Hurney has done an excellent job. We were one of the best teams last season and IF something happens where we keep Lucas and Peppers, we return 22 of 22 starters...Thats amazing.

[mountainpantherfan]

The phrases "returning 22 out of 22 starters" and "thats amazing" should never be spoken in the same sentence.

[rayzor]

right decision.

no way should we have paid omiyale what the bears did for a back up.

hangman should/could be starting somewhere else. it won't happen here. he knows this. can't fault him for wanting to go somewhere else. money is nice but if he wants to start, let him find a place where he can.

slapping the tag on peppers didn't have an impact on that.

[Darth Bobo]

The salary that Peppers will get by being franchised is probably a little bit more than he is actually worth. If Peppers leaves the Panthers, then we win on margin. If he departs, our decision to franchise him will have drastically improved our salary cap position, by forcing other teams to overly compensate us. If he stays, then we'll pay more for having overvalued him. Hopefully, other teams don't exploit the Panthers' proximity to the salary cap, because if interested teams strategically hold back on Peppers, it's going to hurt our bench. No doubt about that.

The same risk was taken with other free agents, like Cassell, for example. Franchise tags are a high ante bet, anticipating that another teams will jump. But our gamble is better than the Tapetriots, because Peppers is more proven at his position than Cassell is at his. Any team whose talent is just shy of a Superbowl should take a good look at Peppers.

I honestly believe that Peppers is not as dramatically inspired to leave the Panthers as it might seem. That's just his agent talking, and telling him what to say. If other teams think he's too sedentary in Charlotte, he's not as appealing. His marketability requires that he disspell with the Carolina Homeboy image. Peppers as an individual is probably far more complacent. Unlike many others here, I do not think it is by any means a certainty that he will leave the Panthers this year.

[unicar15]

After now cutting Bridges, losing Frank Omiyale, and probably losing Hangartner, was signing Peppers worth it? Don't you guys think we could have done better just signing these guys with the cap money? I'm really worried about our oline now, really worried.

Worried about the Oline with the draft coming up and having guys like Schwartz and Barnadeau already in the system? The Oline is probably the last thing I'm worried about right now. Not to mention we could always sign a cheap option to be a backup.

But to answer your question Peppers was absolutely worth it. Would you rather have let him walk out with no compensation at all? I'm sure that the Titans fans are ecstatic that Haynesworth led them to a #1 seed in the AFC and is now gone on the first day of FA without any compensation at all. They got one good season out of him last year as a franchise player but now he is gone and they have to find a replacement for one of the best DL in the game. I'd rather look out for the long-term future of our team by signing pep now and then trading him before the draft which I am confident will happen.

[mantal]

The phrases "returning 22 out of 22 starters" and "thats amazing" should never be spoken in the same sentence.

Why not? Following a great year, (and it was just in case that bomb in the playoffs has clouded your perception) by keeping all the starters is pretty amazing to me. If Delhomme doesn't have 6 turnovers on him in a playoff game, our perception might be quite a bit different. Sure, the defense fell off bigtime in the second half of the season, but we kept winning. Returning all of our starters with FA and the draft still to come puts us in pretty good shape...

[mountainpantherfan]

Why not? Following a great year, (and it was just in case that bomb in the playoffs has clouded your perception) by keeping all the starters is pretty amazing to me. If Delhomme doesn't have 6 turnovers on him in a playoff game, our perception might be quite a bit different. Sure, the defense fell off bigtime in the second half of the season, but we kept winning. Returning all of our starters with FA and the draft still to come puts us in pretty good shape...

The last time this team prided themselves on returning all of their starters we got the 07 season. I'm not saying that it is the worst senerio but if you are just brining back what you had the year before and you didn't win the super bowl then you are settling. With bringing back those 22 starters the Panthers will be competative and might make the playoffs. Chances are though that they don't make the playoffs IMO.

[CBDellinger]

I bet the Panthers hate to do it but they will trade Peppers to Tampa Bay. It will suck to have to see him twice a year panther fans..lol. Tampa could get Peppers for a 1st rounder and still be active in Free agency with 60 million under the cap. I thought they would get Haynesworth for sure but I can see them coming after Peppers now. How did Tampa get so much money under the cap, have a good year and still fire the coach??????

i hope you get a good deal on that crack you are smokin...

[pantherclaw]

As others have said, it had nothing to do with us retaining our backups. Was making this thread worth it?