See you, Julius. Still.

  Chris McClain of WFNZ's "The Mac Attack" interviewed the quiet man, Julius Peppers, Monday, and the network ran the interview Tuesday morning. Several of us have tried to get Peppers to talk. Mac did.

   The interview could be construed as a long goodbye. Nothing Peppers said would make you think he expects to return to the Carolina Panthers, the only NFL team for which he has played.

   I've been writing since the end of the season that Peppers was gone, so maybe I'll get one right. I picked Indianapolis to beat New Orleans Sunday in the Super Bowl. Based on my e-mail, some of you read the column.

   I like Peppers. Although he rarely talks to the local media, at least he is consistent. He doesn't suddenly become an extrovert when Sports Illustrated or ESPN come to town. He is as guarded as any athlete, and maybe any person, I've been around.

   He seems uncomfortable with adulation. But he's comfortable with quiet. He's not standoffish, however. His teammates like him. None of them say, "All right, Julius is here, now the party can start!" But they joke with him in the locker room, after practice and at training camp.

   I think Julius is a decent guy, an extraordinary athlete and a very good football player.

   But I disagree with one statement he made in the interview with Mac. After the 2007 season, in which he had 2 1/2 sacks, the Panthers offered to make him the highest paid defensive player in NFL history. Yet he didn't sign.

   "Somebody might say that's not a smart business or career decision," Peppers said in the interview. "But for me personally I'm not deserving of that. Why would I accept an offer for that amount of money when my performance is nowhere close to that level?"

   The statement is honorable. But Peppers never even acknowledged the contract. He didn't ask for more. He didn't say he was overpaid and ask for less.

   My interpretation then was that he was putting himself in position to leave the Panthers. He still is. 

   Peppers has fulfilled his contractual obligations to the Panthers, and the Panthers have fulfilled their obligations to him.

   Cars wear out. Furniture wears out. I believe the relationship between Peppes and the Panthers also has.

Comments

[David R]

heard a report this AM saying that Atlantia was two or three defensive players away from being a SB team. Wouldn't that be funny?

[Scott]

very well said, Tom.
Adios, Julius. Good luck getting out of a community and region what you got out of Carolina (money, adulation, etc.).
This place has done far more for you than you for it.

[moojie]

Nostratomas makes it a lock! Peps staying a Panther!!

[MJM]

Gosh I can't wait to see him in a Raiders jersey!!!!

[Marty]

Network? What fricking network? They cannot sell that show in other markets. It is LOCAL ONLY! Have some more Chicken Blood dumbass.

[Jim]

I would love to see Peppers end up in some sh*th#le place like Oakland, Cleveland, Buffalo, Kansas City, St Louis or Detroit. These are teams that need the help, can afford Peppers and are not blocked by the Final 8 rule. Given the money he has earned in the past eight years, is it worth playing your career out in some god forsaken place like Cleveland or Detroit for an extra 2 million a year? HAH!

[hellfish]

Hey Denver we got a probowl DE wanting out of town and you got a probowl WR wanting out lets talk trade!

[THD]

How sweet would it be for us to cut Peppers loose and win the Superbowl next year without his ungrateful azz????

[MajorLeague]

If he doen't want to be here so be it. life goes on and the Panthers wil too. I wish him luck, and I wish the Panthers a Super Bowl next year.......how about 3 in a row!!!

[Dan]

The whole idea that Peppers is turned off by the Panther's silence strikes me as totally hypocritical. Peppers and his agent have played the silence game with the Panthers twice. It seems to me they are giving him a taste of his own medicine. I think Tom is right. Peppers was planning on leaving during the 07 season. The idea that he turned down a lucrative contract because he had a bad season is ludicrous.