Fri @ 1:15 pm – Schefter has updated Peppers guaranteed numbers… $40 million in first three years

1:05 pm – Updating our previous post, Chicago has reportedly reached an agreement with defensive end Julius Peppers (Panthers) and running back Chester Taylor (Vikings), and an announcement to introduce both players along with tight end Brandon Manumaleuna (Rams) is scheduled for this afternoon.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears have inked Taylor to a four year deal worth an estimated $12.5 million, with $7 million guaranteed. It’s not certain how this signing will affect the current starter at RB in Matt Forte, but at any rate Taylor will bring much needed leadership and versatility to the locker room in Chicago.

As for Peppers, the deal is not quite final but the terms of his new contract have leaked out, indicating the agreement is on its final stage. According to Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times, the contract is for six seasons at $12 million, or $72 million overall. The first three seasons are guaranteed.

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Fri @ 11:45 am – Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer is reporting both Peppers and Taylor are taking physicals right now in Chicago, which is a definite precursor to a contract agreement. Look for an announcement to come out soon.

12:35 am – It’s all but official, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Peppers will be introduced tomorrow afternoon, barring any complications.

Thurs @ 11:35 pm – Peppers to the Bears is all but done, with multiple sources reporting it’s Chicago’s “deal to lose.”

11:32 pm – According to Chicago Tribune beat writer Vaughn McClure,  Bears head coach Lovie Smith has flown into Charlotte to meet with Peppers and his agent tonight, before flying back with the pair to Chicago.

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The 2010 free agency period is approaching rapidly, and the rumors and speculation as to which players teams might pick up are sure to continue heating up. Julius Peppers has been linked to the Patriots quite a bit lately, and the five-time Pro-Bowler has released statements that he’d like to play in Philadelphia, but the Eagles are among a trio of teams who might be eyeing another defensive end expected to hit the open market this Friday… Tennessee’s Kyle Vanden Bosch.

Despite being 31 years of age, Vanden Bosch was named as an alternate and ended up playing in this past Pro-Bowl game, and has continued to be a pass rushing force for the Titans. After a mediocre start to his NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals, the Iowa native joined the Titans in 2005 and immediately helped their defensive unit move to among the best in the league.

With 38.5 career sacks as a member of the Tennessee organization (including a pair of seasons in which he recorded over 12), Vanden Bosch has a high motor on the line, and could prove to be a low-cost, high-reward addition this offseason if indeed pursued by a team.

“At the NFL Combine, I heard plenty of buzz about teams interested in Vanden Bosch. Behind Carolina’s Julius Peppers, Vanden Bosch and Green Bay’s Aaron Kampman are mentioned most as the top Defensive Ends headed to free agency. The teams I heard mentioned the most for Vanden Bosch were the Eagles, Bears and Lions. I have a hunch he’ll end up on one of those three teams when all is said and done.”

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In what has become a recurring theme over the past decade, Washington is primed to lay out a significant amount of cash in an effort to lure several key free agents to the nation’s capitol next fall.

According to Jason Reid of the Washington Post, the Redskins are expected to be major players in this year’s class of free agents, and are on the hunt to potentially acquire LB Karlos Dansby, RB Darren Sproles, and DE Julius Peppers. With this season being an uncapped year in all likelihood, owner Dan Snyder could easily shell out a truckload of cash to all three players and not be worried about breaking the barrier in place in recent years.

Obviously Washington isn’t the only team itching to add those three playmakers once the free agency period begins this Friday at midnight, and the Redskins will likely encounter competition for their services. That said, it comes as little surprise that Snyder will be looking to acquire premier talent via free agency this off-season, and while it hasn’t worked out in the past for the club, the addition of one or all three of the players mentioned above would definitely go a long way towards turning the Redskins into a contender in a hurry.

As always, we’ll keep you posted when more information becomes available.

One of the prime potential landing spots for Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers could be out of the picture this off-season, thanks in large part to a free agent bust at a similar position.

According to Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com, New England’s front office staff may be a bit leary of bringing in another high priced free agent, after linebacker Adalius Thomas’ production dropped off precipitously over the past two seasons. 

Thomas came to the Patriots from Baltimore as a premier free agent acquisition in 2007, and many felt he would be an impact player for the remainder of his career in New England. But while his play was servicable for the most part, Thomas struggled to fit in with the Patriots, culminating his troubles last season with a public feud over his dismissal from practice by head coach Bill Belichick.

Peppers currently plays defensive end for the Panthers, but is scheduled to be a free agent and has made it fairly clear that he would like to transition into a 3-4 rush linebacker role with his new team if possible. New England has long been speculated has being enamored with Peppers, but could choose to spend their money elsewhere, especially in light of the pending free agents they already have in guard Logan Mankins and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.

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The past few off-seasons have been frustrating at best for Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers, with the Carolina brass choosing to keep him in the fold one season at a time with the dreaded franchise tag. Obviously, the money that’s come along with that tag hasn’t been all that bad for Peppers, but there’s little doubt that the All-Pro pass rusher has been ready to leave town for a long time, and this year he just might get his wish.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Panthers are not expected to keep Peppers around via the franchise tag this time, in light of the likely $20 million a season cost it would bring. But if they choose not to use that label on Peppers, it’s doubtful that he would stick around to see if a long term deal is in the works, opening him up to a free agent market that is likely to be a thin one given the potential uncapped season looming.

“I think most people who have looked at the situation have understood the complexity of it for the Panthers. What I’m more surprised by is the silent treatment that they’re giving Julius at this time. We have had a very respectful relationship with the organization and this is very much unlike what I’m used to seeing from them.”

– Agent Carl Carey

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San Francisco hasn’t closed the door on a possible Julius Peppers addition this off-season, but for the time being they’re content to develop their pass rush in house with players that have thus far underachieved.

According to the Sacramento Bee, the Niners will be using LBs Parys Haralson and Manny Lawson in a hybrid pass rushing role within their 3-4 defense this season, and so far that move looks good on the practice field. Getting it to work in a real game situation is entirely different though, so the team still has their phone lines open to a potential trade to acquire Peppers from Carolina and may seek to bring free agent DE Jason Taylor into the mix as the summer progresses.

Getting Peppers would be extremely tricky, as San Fran would likely have to cough up a first round pick and more to pry him loose, but the return on such an investment would be huge. In Peppers, the 49ers would have a relatively young pass rusher that is experienced, determined, and has superstar caliber talent. That addition alone could vault the team into the race for NFC West supremacy, although it seems that the Cardinals currently have a stranglehold on that division.

As always, we’ll keep an eye out for anything we see on this and all the other news from around the league.

Despite the repeated attempts by DE Julius Peppers to extricate himself from Carolina this off-season, the Panthers front office expressed a strong level of confidence in his return to the team this fall, and are looking forward to watching Peppers contribute in a big way once again, according to the Associated Press.

Carolina GM Marty Hurney addressed the issue with reporters yesterday:

“We’ve known Julius for seven years, and it has been a good seven years,” Hurney said. “I think he knows how we feel, and we feel like he’s been happy here. And again, nothing has changed. We franchised him, and when we did we knew there was a period for the process to take place. When that process goes through then he’s going to be back.”

“If you look, there are a lot of teams that I regard as successful organizations, and successful teams that have followed the same approach and aren’t very active in free agency,” Hurney said. “We’ve kept our nucleus together. We have a lot of starters back from last year. We have some young players who I think can help our depth. We feel good about the makeup of the team. We hope to help ourselves in the draft next Saturday.”

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Julius Peppers has made no secret his desire to venture beyond the friendly confines of North Carolina for the first time in his adult life, and has adamantly demanded a trade or release take place in the near future.

According to Vic Carucci (NFL.com), Peppers may end up getting his wish granted sooner than many expected after league sources revealed today that the Patriots and the Panthers are exploring a possible deal that would send the All-Pro DE to New England with a package of draft picks coming back in return.

Peppers has spent his entire career thus far with Carolina after being drafted out of the University of North Carolina in 2002. He came clean with his interest in leaving the team, shortly after the Panthers frustrating loss at home in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs to the Arizona Cardinals, and has made no attempt at clarifying his comments up to now.

The Panthers have spent much of their off-season to this point in locking up potential free agents on their squad and placed their franchise tag on Peppers to prevent him from departing via free agency this winter.

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12:50 pm: Adam Schefter is reporting that the Panthers have used their franchise tag, as expected, on Peppers. Once they finalized the deal with Gross, it became a no brainer for Carolina to take care of this loose end.

12:15 pm: According to NFL.com, Gross has finalized the contract with the Panthers

10:55 am: According to the Charlotte Observer, the Panthers are nearing a long term deal with T Jordan Gross that would guarantee him $30.5 million over the first three years of a six year deal with the club.

The contract would set a new record for the most money ever paid out in that timeframe to an offensive lineman in the NFL, and if it is completed in time, Carolina will be free to exercise its franchise tag option on DE Julius Peppers before the league’s 4:00 pm EST deadline later today.

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Panthers DE Julius Peppers is pretty particular when it comes to where he wants to play, and is pushing the team that drafted him to send him on his way to one of those spots if they wind up franchising him this week.

According to the Charlotte Observer, Peppers has given Carolina a list of four potential trade partners and expects the team to honor his wishes by working out an arrangement with one of the above.

The four teams were not disclosed, but apparently the Panthers ruled out two of the teams automatically, leading most to believe they were within the division. The third team was in the NFC but not within the division, while the fourth was in the AFC.

If the Panthers do not use their franchise tag on Peppers, he would become an unrestricted free agent and could sign with the highest bidder, regardless of location, and Carolina would receive no compensation. By using the tag on him, they would commit themselves to either paying Peppers an enormous sum of money for one season of play or trading him away for multiple picks, which is never easy to accomplish.

Carolina Panthers DE Julius Peppers didn’t have much to say about his future with the club after the Panthers shocking defeat at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals. And after losing 33-13 to the NFC’s worst division winner at home, there aren’t many who can blame him.

Peppers is set to become an unrestricted free agent very soon, yet according to the Charlotte Observer, Carolina is likely to use their franchise tag on him if the two sides are unable to reach an agreement prior to the free agency period commencing in February.