No, this is not an early April Fools joke people. According to Josina Anderserson of ESPN, the Packers have signed Julius Peppers’ to a 3-year deal “for $30M max, $7.5M guaranteed & $8.5M in total in 1st yr salary.
Chicago cut Peppers this week when it became apparent his cap-heavy contract was to much for them to bear (snicker…)
By the terms of his contract with the Bears, he was going to count 18M against the cap in 2014 and over 20M in 2015.
Peppers started in every game during his time with the Bears, with 37.5 sacks in four years. 2013 was his least productive season with the Bears.
From what I’ve heard so far, it would appear the Packers will use Peppers as a rush OLB or DE/OLB hybrid to compliment Clay Matthews and setup a nice rotation of Matthews, Peppers, Neal and Perry depending on situation and assuring no one gets over worked. But make no mistake, his primary job will be to rush the passer.
Say what you want about how much Julius Peppers may or may not have left, it’s the same thing they said about Charles Woodson. There is hope for a more disruptive pass rush now…
And maybe the best part is, we no longer have to worry about THIS:
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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.
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Maybe Peppers wants a ring. Still looking for more information on the structure of the contract, but it sounds workable into the CAP. I can see a line of Jones, Raji and Peppers with Worthy and Daniels backing up at DE and DT, and Boyd at NT. I can see Peppers in a Cullen Jenkins type role. I was assuming that the draft will bring a safety or front 7 player (Nix, Tuitt, Hagemann, Mosley came to mind). It all depends on who is available at #21, or course, who TT likes, and the to me the not improbable option that TT will trade back if he can get value for it and maybe still get a player he likes. 6 DL under contract are Daniels, Worthy, Jones, Raji, Boyd and Peppers. GB often keep 6 DL, last year we kept 7. Wonder if TT is still looking at Jolly, Pickett, or a first or second round draft pick?
34 is old but worth the risk. Has there been any 34 year old DE in the history of NFL with success? I think this allows us to focus on our biggest needs in first 3 rounds which are safety, TE, and center. AR must be very nervous right now without a starting center locked yet.
Seems like a good move to me. It will be interesting to see where Peppers fits I and how it all comes together. I do wonder if the combined amounts spent on Peppers and Raji could have been better used on a veteran safety and/or an ILB. However, it all starts with the DL on defense. This probably means Pickett and Jolly are gone. Maybe TT is not done yet. Thumbs up for now. Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since ’61
I sincerely hope my gut is off on this one, but I’m not thrilled about this acquisition.
Peppers doesn’t seem like he’s still an impact player anymore. I don’t recall the last time the Packers played him where I felt like Peppers was a game-changer or someone who demanded a ton of extra attention from our linemen.
That said, the money is right, so I’m not upset by the signing either. I’m pretty unfazed by it.
As far as people talking about TT leaving his comfort zone, well.. He didn’t.. This is exactly the kind of outside FA signing that TT is comfortable enough to engage in. Aging talent who others are shying away from whom the scouting department has always really liked, and was able to be brought under contract for reasonable money… It’s not that Ted Thompson just did something out of character, it’s that the situations in which TT is comfortable dipping into FA don’t present themselves too frequently.