Julius Peppers and the Panthers appear headed for divorce.
Julius Peppers and Rex Ryan would be a match made in heaven. Too bad the Jets, because they made it to the AFC Championship game, won’t be able to sign a marquee free agent unless they lost one first.
Because it would require players to have six years of service time — instead of four — to become unrestricted players in the imminent uncapped year, Peppers would be far and away the biggest fish in a small pond.
The Giants have talked about the importance of maintaining fiscal responsibility during these perilous economic/NFL times.
There is, however, one scenario that should get Giants president John Mara and co-owner Steve Tisch scurrying for their fishing rods — if Osi Umenyiora truly wants out.
It doesn’t take much to go from pretender to contender in one year in the NFL. The Giants took the first step toward restoring the pride of Big Blue by replacing overmatched defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan with the fiery Perry Fewell. That was a mere appetizer.
Peppers would complete the meal.
Imagine a younger Michael Strahan getting after Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb. Peppers, who is 30 years old, is coming off a 10 ½-sack season.
If Umenyiora, 28, decides he’d love to play for Fewell, if he doesn’t demand a trade and is willing to play for $3 million, there would be no need for Peppers.
If Umenyiora thinks he can get a big-money contract elsewhere, then the Giants have to make a play for Peppers.
Remember what former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi always used to say: Only the franchise quarterback is more valuable than the dynamic pass rusher.
One problem: Peppers has expressed a preference for playing in a 3-4 defense, even if his agent, Carl Carey, predictably indicated recently that he would be open to play in any scheme.
One solution: Show him the money, before the Eagles do. Remember this about an uncapped year: Teams can freely rid themselves of dead (or aging) wood (Rocky Bernard, possibly Kareem McKenzie) without salary cap ramifications.
“If there is no salary cap, we still have a fiscal responsibility,” Giants GM Jerry Reese said last month. “We will do what we can do to make the team better, but we’ll have some parameters.”
The Panthers used the restrictive franchise tag on Peppers a year ago and paid him an NFL-high $18.2 million. But the silence from the Panthers regarding a contract extension this offseason has been deafening to Peppers.
“They’re not even talking to me, so why would I come out and say I want to be here, when the team is not even acknowledging the fact that my future with the organization is up in the air?” Peppers told The Herald of Rock Hill, S.C.
Peppers no longer wants a long-term deal to stay in Carolina.
“Last year, at the time, that was the option that I wanted most. But now it’s not,” he said.
The Panthers have from tomorrow through Feb. 25 to designate Peppers as their franchise player. Peppers would be then be due $20.1 million. They could still decide to trade him.
Peppers has been known to take plays off from time to time, but that’s where Fewell’s motivational prowess would come into play. And sometimes a change of scenery can do the trick for a player who clearly needs one.
“I’m a man of very few words; I understand very well what silence means,” Peppers said in a Charlotte radio interview. “You being silent to me, I understand exactly what you’re trying to say. Because of the lack of communication that they’ve had with us, if somebody asks me, ‘Do I want to stay in Carolina and play for the Panthers next year?’ It’s like, OK, well, how can you say you want to be somewhere if you’re not really sure if they want you. Because they’re not even talking to you.”
Talk to him, Giants.
“We’re going to do what we need to do to improve the team,” Mara vowed last month. “We’re not going to leave any stone unturned.”
Remember how the Giants got after Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII? Assault on the quarterback again, compliments of Julius Peppers.