Posted about 1 hour ago
992 Comments 101 Recommendations E-mail
Patriots appear primed to make a deal with Panthers for Peppers
Vic Carucci By Vic Carucci | NFL.com
Senior Columnist
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.
Patriots' offseason moves
Acquired:
TE Chris Baker
LB Tully Banta-Cain
CB Leigh Bodden
WR Joey Galloway
LS Nathan Hodel
C Al Johnson
WR Greg Lewis
CB Shawn Springs
RB Fred Taylor
Retained:
LB Eric Alexander
OT Wesley Britt
P Chris Hanson
G Russ Hochstein
S James Sanders
S Ray Ventrone
S Tank Williams
DL Mike Wright
Departed:
QB Matt Cassel
FB Heath Evans
WR Jabar Gaffney
LB Larry Izzo
WR C.J. Jones
RB LaMont Jordan
LS Lonie Paxton
LB Darrell Robertson
LB Mike Vrabel
» Free-agency tracker
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. However, a deal must be brokered by Peppers' agent, not Carolina, because the player hasn't signed the $16.68 million franchise tender the team gave him last month.
Peppers would be converted to outside linebacker in New England's 3-4 defense.
The Patriots already were looking ahead to the possibility of acquiring Peppers when they shipped Cassel and Vrabel to Kansas City, NFL sources say, because they wanted to clear the salary-cap space necessary to sign Peppers to a new contract that would put him among the higher-paid defensive players in the league. After signing Cassel to a one-year, franchise-tag tender contract worth $14.65 million, New England had nearly $30 million in cap money devoted to two quarterbacks (including $14.62 million for Tom Brady).
992 Comments 101 Recommendations E-mail
Patriots appear primed to make a deal with Panthers for Peppers
Vic Carucci By Vic Carucci | NFL.com
Senior Columnist
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.
Patriots' offseason moves
Acquired:
TE Chris Baker
LB Tully Banta-Cain
CB Leigh Bodden
WR Joey Galloway
LS Nathan Hodel
C Al Johnson
WR Greg Lewis
CB Shawn Springs
RB Fred Taylor
Retained:
LB Eric Alexander
OT Wesley Britt
P Chris Hanson
G Russ Hochstein
S James Sanders
S Ray Ventrone
S Tank Williams
DL Mike Wright
Departed:
QB Matt Cassel
FB Heath Evans
WR Jabar Gaffney
LB Larry Izzo
WR C.J. Jones
RB LaMont Jordan
LS Lonie Paxton
LB Darrell Robertson
LB Mike Vrabel
» Free-agency tracker
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. However, a deal must be brokered by Peppers' agent, not Carolina, because the player hasn't signed the $16.68 million franchise tender the team gave him last month.
Peppers would be converted to outside linebacker in New England's 3-4 defense.
The Patriots already were looking ahead to the possibility of acquiring Peppers when they shipped Cassel and Vrabel to Kansas City, NFL sources say, because they wanted to clear the salary-cap space necessary to sign Peppers to a new contract that would put him among the higher-paid defensive players in the league. After signing Cassel to a one-year, franchise-tag tender contract worth $14.65 million, New England had nearly $30 million in cap money devoted to two quarterbacks (including $14.62 million for Tom Brady).