![]() ![]() Signing Peppers to the franchise tender would mean that the team would owe him about $16.7 million for the 2009 season, or roughly $1 million per regular season game. The Panthers' decision to place the franchise tag on Peppers with their knowledge of his desire to go elsewhere is one of the most debated and heated topics in the history of this franchise. Peppers made it clear that he was not interested in returning to the Carolina Panthers for the 2009 season and was hell bent on playing as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 system somewhere else. When the Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs in January of 2008 by the Cardinals, things turned ugly for Peppers and Carolina. His effort was questioned on a nearly week-to-week basis and it seemed as though any game that Peppers didn't put up Pro Bowl numbers, he was the main topic of conversation for the week in between games. Still, Peppers was the target of plenty of negativity from fans who insisted he was a slacker and that he was taking plays off. He notched a career-high 14.5 sacks and was named to his fourth Pro Bowl. When the lights came on for the 2008 season, however, Peppers was back to his old form. He turned down a long-term contract from the Panthers that would have made him the highest paid defensive player in the NFL, adding fuel to the fanbase's fire. He was a popular topic entering the 2008 season-his contract year. He was accused of taking plays off, not having his heart in the game, and quitting on the team. The Panthers' fan base, frustrated by a second straight season without a playoff appearance after making it to the NFC Championship game in 2005, began to question Peppers' heart and determination. ![]() He missed the final two games of that season with a knee injury but the damage had already been done. ![]() Was Peppers sick, hurt, or was he just lazy? Rumors swirled and people around Charlotte started to ride his back about his poor performance. The local media, fans, national media, and even Peppers himself were all befuddled by the drop off. Peppers' numbers diminished dramatically as he recorded only 2.5 sacks and 38 total tackles while, for all intents and purposes, completely disappearing. The Panthers experienced intermediate success and Peppers was considered the key cog in a defensive unit that was known as a decisive force around the NFL. Following the 2003 season, he recorded three straight 10-plus sack seasons while reaching the Pro Bowl in each of them. When Peppers' numbers slacked off in 2003 it went largely unnoticed as the Panthers made their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. As then-defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said, "Julius wasn't trying to beat the system, he's a good kid who was a little naive." Peppers insisted that the reason for the positive test was linked to a diet supplement he was given by a friend, and Panthers fans-for the most part-believed him. Peppers was suspended the for the last four games of the 2002 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. ![]()
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