The Julius Peppers Franchise Dilemma

Julius Peppers told the Carolina Panthers, in no uncertain terms, that he wants out of Charlotte. There is no disconnect here: he wants nothing to do with the Panthers in 2009, regardless of their defensive scheme.

But the Panthers face an entirely different issue aside from simply acquiescing to Peppers' demands and shipping him out. See, Pepp will be a free agent in 17 days, and at that point, the Panthers will lose any value that he previously provided the franchise. So, yeah, this should be a fun few weeks, considering the Panthers' various options.

Well, the first option is to simply let Peppers walk. He doesn't want to be there, the differences between he and the team seem irreconcilable, and it would save both sides a lot of headaches and negotiations -- not to mention a rather expensive game of chicken -- if he just got to pick where he played in 2009. Still, the Panthers would get nothing for him. That's never any good.

The next option is to hit Peppers with a franchise tag. This is an extremely expensive course of action, mainly because the All-Pro defensive end will cost the Panthers $16,965,000 in 2009, based on the franchise tag/tender numbers for the coming season. (Peppers is the top paid option, so you have to add 20% to his already inflated number.) This, obviously, is a large chunk of change, especially when you talk about a player that wants nothing to do with the organization. If the Panthers do franchise him in the hopes of utilizing him in 2009, they certainly run the risk of Peppers holding out the entire season and throttling their cap space without providing any actual value in return.

And finally, there's the newly popularized (think Jared Allen from Chiefs to Vikings) "franchise and trade" move. Basically, the Panthers would tag Peppers at his ~$17 million number and hope to find a suitor for him before the draft. This works especially well for Carolina because they not only get something in return for Peppers which will also, hopefully, be a first round draft pick.

This is dependent on the team receiving Peppers, obviously, but it's worth noting that the Dolphins got a second and sixth rounder for Jason Taylor, while the Chiefs got a first and two thirds for Allen, and Peppers likely falls somewhere closer to Allen's side, particularly with the upside he possesses as a 3-4 linebacker.

The third option is obviously the most favorable; the Panthers get to move Peppers and actually get something in return. But it's also the most risky, mainly because unless the Panthers actually have a trading partner in place, they could end up franchising Peppers without any sort of guarantee to move him; that could/would result in Peppers sitting the season out -- and everyone loses if that happens. Except Julius, since he would get paid $17 million to be petulant.