Looking closer at Peppers

What will the Panthers do with Julius Peppers?

He enters the last season of his rookie contract (2008), and a long-term extension, which seemed a foregone conclusion at some point before last season, is no longer certain with Peppers coming off his worst season. He had a career-low 2.5 sacks (he had never been below seven before and was coming off a career-high 13). But in 2007, he was nowhere nearly as effective has he had been in the past, often having trouble against one on-one protection. He said several times he did not have a physical problem, although he was sick for about two weeks during camp. He often seemed listless.

Part of the problem is if the Panthers do nothing, Peppers will count more than $14 million against the cap, a huge chunk of the team’s salary total, which expected to be increased to $116 million by the NFL for next year. It could have been more, but the $1.5 million bonus Peppers would have earned for selection to the Pro Bowl didn’t happen, and it was removed from the cap total. But that salary, which includes a $2.5 million roster bonus, isn’t likely to be a deal-breaker if the team decides to keep him without renegotiating to see if he can once again become an All-Pro.

Do you expect a bounce-back season, making an extension worthwhile? The Panthers don’t have a lot of options at the position; if Mike Rucker comes back, it will likely be as a reserve, and neither Stanley McClover nor Charles Johnson made much of an impact last year, although some defensive ends take longer than others to develop.

-- Stan Olson