Peppers to Patriots a real possibility

by MaPatsFan on Mar 16, 2009 3:44 PM EDT

It is looking more and more like the 4-3 DE will be coming to New England:

The trade that sent Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs appears to be only the first phase of some major wheeling and dealing by the New England Patriots this offseason.

The second phase, NFL sources say, is likely to involve a trade that would send Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers to the Patriots in exchange for the second-round pick (34th overall) they received from the Chiefs on Feb. 28.

According to league sources, the Patriots and Panthers are hoping to complete the deal at some point between the March 22-25 NFL owners meetings and the start of the draft on April 25.

Peppers, on whom the Panthers have placed a franchise tag that assures him of a one-year contract worth $16.68 million, would be converted to outside linebacker in New England's 3-4 defense.

I'm pretty neutral at this point. NE OLB's Pierre Woods and Adalius Thomas would've started with 2nd year man Shawn Crable as backup, so this could add a lot of depth or push one of the guys out of a starting OLB spot (my guess would be Woods). We lost a step in our pass rush last year, so this may be a move to grab a real QB killer.

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Get it done....

….although I would really like to get a first round pick out of the Peppers deal. Even if we end up with the #34 pick, we’ve still got a fairly high pick and get rid of some cap space that would possibly let us land Holt.

by bravesfan91 on Mar 16, 2009 4:39 PM EDT reply actions

First round talent in second round

There’s a section in the above article postulating the reason the Panthers mgmt is ok with a 34th pick overall is a team can get first round talent in the second round, especially that high. If it pans out, Carolina could have very good talent at a discounted price.

Blogger at SBNation's New England Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit

by MaPatsFan on Mar 16, 2009 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Sorry for the double post

I think the ideal situation would be to move Peppers, add Holt and a verteran lineman on both sides for depth, then draft DE Michael Johnson with the #34 pick. I think I’d be perfectly content with that scenario.

by bravesfan91 on Mar 16, 2009 5:38 PM EDT reply actions

Maybe if . . .

NE offers the #23 and #34 picks. There is NO WAY we give him up for just a 2nd.

Panther fans,
Please think about how bad you want to get rid of Pep. The Chiefs gave up Jared Allen and had one of the WORST defenses in the league, even after they got top five DT Glen Dorsey. I mentioned in another post, Pep is way too valuable. Since entering the league he is tied for 2nd in sacks with Dwight Freeney (70.5) and behind only Jason Taylor. I would much rather pay him the 16.7 mil.

Will Parker

by WillParker81 on Mar 17, 2009 9:33 AM EDT reply actions