Schefter '99 percent sure' Peppers won't be a Patriot

Schefter says that the patriots are going to be unwilling to pay the nearly $17 million franchise tag salary. At the same time he mentions that the patriots would have to work out a new contract. We could probably assume that a new Julius Peppers contract would be less than the franchise tag. It seems like he is contradicting himself.

I agree with Micheal Lombardi. No one in the locker room is going to make more than Tom Brady.

Plain and simple, Schefter will be eating his words

Are you hearing any other rumblings about this from other sources Chris?

Schefter is an interesting guy to listen to, but when asked to back up his 99.9% certainty with sound reasoning, he really couldn't. Basically, he thinks the Pats can't afford Peppers. That, of course, assumes that Peppers wont negotiate a long term deal with the Pats at reasonable money AND that the Pats are done making cap room to allow l deals for Wilfork, Mankins, etc. Isn't it possible that if the Pats get Peppers, they aren't done moving pieces around? What do you think Richard Seymour might command on the open market in a trade?

I like Schefter. He knows what he's talking about. And, I kind of agree with him, unless Belichick sees something in Peppers that nobody else sees, i.e., he sees another Lawrence Taylor type threat on the outside.

If that ain't a kick in the johnson I do not know what is!!!!

Same thing he said on the Bill Simmons podcast a few weeks ago, and I'm inclined to agree. Belichick doesn't let something this big sneak out - he operates in stealth, especially with draft-related matters, and with a 2nd rounder involved, this would certainly qualify. I think there's a better chance of Jason Taylor playing a Seau-type role next year.

New England almost never pays top dollar.

New England almost never hires a free-agent lineman. They almost all were drafted by the Patriots, undrafted free agents or other teams' young castoffs. Exception: Two Ton Ted.

It'll never happen, goes against the Pats core principles. Giving up 4-5 years of a quality player for cheap money for Peppers and $35m guaranteed will never happen; the guy has never even played in a 3-4. The words "highest paid defensive player" and Patriots do not go hand in hand. The result of the vote is astonishing, WAKE UP PEOPLE

Although I semi agree that Peppers probably won't come here, Schefter didn't give proof on why he was 99.9% sure. With the Patriots you can't be 99.9% sure.
i.e. MOSS. DILLON, THOMAS, COLVIN

Peppers can rush the passer no doubt and the Pats need to improve their pass rush.

But there is more to OLB than rushing the passer. How do any of you know that Peppers could be a 3 down linebacker? Can he cover the flat? Can he set the edge against the run? He has been a 3 or 4 stance player his entire career. How do we know if he can play 1st and 2nd down in the two stance?

The pats would be foolish to invest that much money if he is a situational player. For the contract he would demand he would have to be an every down player and there are a lot of questions concerning that.

This makes sense to me. With Wilfork and Seymour looming, and given the type of money that it will take to sign Peppers, it doesn't make sense for us to pay him a huge contract considering he hasn't played a down for us. Not that I wouldn't like to have him though!

If we can get Taylor for a reasonable contract, that would seem to be more in line with Belichick's system.

honestly, I agree with schefter. I Know peppers has shown the flashes of talent to be an unstoppable pass rusher, but the word inconsistency comes to mind before dominance. I would much rather re-up willfork and logan mankins then sign Jason Taylor to a 2yr reasonable contract than simply trade for peppers and tie up a ridiculous amount of money in 1 player. Plus signing taylor won't cost the pats a draft pick... the pats have the ability to draft some players that could contribute to key posistions for years to come, and everyone knows you build your future through the draft. I would love to have peppers but the cost is too high.

you guys all failed to even mention the fact that this is the last year before the collective bargaining agreement expires, which means that there is no longer any salary cap, unless re-negotiated between the players association and the owners after this year. this dynamic changes the entire situation. say they work out a deal with his agent for less $$ in 2009 as not to kill their salary cap, but load up the contract value in 2010, etc. when, at the moment, there is no salary cap. this makes the situation way more difficult to read and interesting to follow. kraft and belichick are smart guys. kraft is one of the most popular owners and easily has the inside scoop as to what direction the league is heading in. should be fun to watch this unfold

didnt shefter say he was 99% sure cassel wasen't going to be traded?

When I think of Julius Peppers, I can't help but think of him getting singlehandedly manhandled by Daniel Graham in the SB.

The only thing you have to do to get Belichick to bite on Peppers, is tell him why it wouldn't work... He has a lot of pride in his system, and himself as a teacher. Like he did with Randy Moss, he'll try to take you telling him he can't and turn it into a can.

Belichick believes: 1) Teach them their Job. 2) Make them do their job.

If Peppers isn't willing to get humble, and let his ego go for the sake of winning... He won't fit. Taylor, who is already humbled, will be just as effective...

3) All Pieces can be replaced.

I can’t say I would complain if some how Peppers ended up here but i am not sure I understand the logic in it.

I mean I don’t understand why Peppers would want to go anywhere when all he has to do is put pen to paper and be guaranteed approx. 17mil. What the heck could be 17mil reasons bad in Carolina? Also, would the Pats really want to give that kind of guaranteed money on a gamble? Yes I said gamble. It’s like taking a guy in the draft as a DE and projecting him as a 3-4 outside LB. Everyone openly says it is a projection. It is the exact same here. Peppers is proven as a 4-3 DE in the NFL, that’s it, so far. It is also widely accepted that it generally takes some time to learn the position after making the switch. Peppers is going to turn 30. I think the Pats would want more of an immediate impact for that big of a deal. That’s even putting aside for the moment that it is generally accepted that the Pat’s style of 3-4 and scheme is not exactly an easy one to pick up.

I don't agree with 99.9%, but its a really long shot. First of all, he isn't versatile enough, and that's what BB likes best. Second of all, he's not going to take a pay cut vs. what he could get elsewhere. And last, I'm just not convinced there's a system fit for him in NE. He's going to be learning a new position late in his career? Not sure about that one

I definitely agree that Peppers is too much $ for the Pats. The one thing that makes me think there is more to the story is that the Panthers can't negotiate with the Pats until the Tag is signed but Peppers and his agent can. If the stories about Peppers having the Pats on his short list is true he has to be going into the process knowing that they will not pay him anything close to what he'd be getting somewhere else, and that he won't be making more than Brady. Another side of it is he has said he wants to change positions to OLB so switching to a new position where he hasn't proved himself would also require him to take a pay cut.

With those things to consider could Peppers sign for something that would cost 7m on the cap this year(from what I hear the pats have 7.8 of space left this year) I dunno. Could part of the delay be the Pats are not just negotiating with Peppers, but some of their own players like Wilfork to resign/restructure their deal to free up a bit more cap space this year?

Not a Patriots type of guy? So Randy Moss was before joining the Pats? Hmm Good to know people can't change in order to be a winner.....

Couldn't agree more with Shefter and I never even got close to hyped up about this one.

It doesn't matter what a long-term structure would look like, it's still going to be too much money for a total risk. The risk is solely on how Peppers would fit in this system. You want to commit that much money to a guy that has never played the outside spot in a 3-4. It's totally worth the risk if money were no issue, but... it's going to take a lot of money to bring/keep JP around.

Not worth it. Unnecessary and risky. Very un-Belichick...

"New England almost never hires a free-agent lineman. They almost all were drafted by the Patriots, undrafted free agents or other teams' young castoffs. "

But they'd most likely convert him to OLB, and they've gone the free-agent route with them several times. In any case, this would be a trade.

As far as inconsistency, that was one of the knocks on Randy Moss. He seems to have worked out quite well in New England, wouldn't you say?

If they can get this guy for a second-round, and sign him to a cap-friendly multiyear deal, that's a steal.

Fact is a month before the draft Belichick is sending out a bunch of red herrings. Anyone know his infatuation with Mayo last year? Me neither.

And the best thing is that it's great! BB doesn't let his competitors know who he's really after. This pre-trade publicity has been very un-like the Patriots we know. What's certain is that BB has a plan and no amount of public pressure is going to make him change his course. It's better for the organization he operates this way.

At least he's given some bored football analysts something to talk about while he goes about his business.

He's not coming the the Pats. All people referencing Moss, Dillon etc. They got paid nothing in base salary and most of if wAs incentive based. You actually think he will go the Pats form 1/3 his market value. Not happening. Secondly they generally or basically almost never take risks involving large contracts and unproven talent in their system. Adalius was an excpetion and Peppers will want alot more than that.

He's not coming the the Pats. All people referencing Moss, Dillon etc. They got paid nothing in base salary and most of if wAs incentive based. You actually think he will go the Pats form 1/3 his market value. Not happening. Secondly they generally or basically almost never take risks involving large contracts and unproven talent in their system. Adalius was an excpetion and Peppers will want alot more than that.

I'm amazed with the sloppy reporting on this. So much hype by too many media types trying to sensationalize a trade story.

Gosh I really miss Mike Reiss. Let's all just wait and see. BB has always done what is best for the team regardless of what everyone else wants him to do.

And I'm 99% sure that the Pays would have been better off dealing Cassel to the Broncos for the #12 or #19 pick in the draft this year.

Then we could have taken Mauluaga and Clay Matthews with the 12 and 23. Now we'd have to deal one of the second rounders to move up. And we probably could have otherwise dealt #47 for a first rounder in next years draft. To a team that's desperate and who's GM needs to win now (or else they're fired) which is a bunch of them. Five teams needed QBs... Supply and demand...
We don't need Peppers. Mauluaga and Matthews would slot in quite nicely- at a good price.

brian peppers would be awesome on the pats

It will be Jason Taylor, not Peppers, in New England. And he will have a better year than Peppers. BB loves him and he will flourish under this D....and stick it to the Big Tuna.

say NO to Peppers and what it would cost (although Im sure BB & Kraft could "do" it, somehow)
Instead lock-up Wilfork & Seymore, then add Jason Taylor.
Use every draft-pick to grab the best player available at each spot - regardless of position.
We have 5 of the top 89 to hopefully get 1 each of a decent O-Line, D-Line, ILB, & OLB
There will still be 4 later pick, of which 2 should be for CB, S & more Linemen

No matter what, this is just another chapter in the historic story of what an enigma BB and the Patriots organization is to the media. From the Bledsoe/Brady battle to spygate and the Walsh witch hunt the circus has been just as entertaining as the gridiron games.

You guys (especially the Boston press) don't have a clue.
But you can all rest assured that the Cassell/Vrabel move is still going on…

Taylor would be the perfect bridge to Clay Matthews, who may need a year of "redshirting" but will probably be an excellent Mike Vrabel-type player in the league for 15 plus years. Our front seven would be set for the long-haul, assuming we re-sign Seymour and Wilfork, instead of Peppers.
ROLB Adalius Thomas
RDE Richard Seymour
RILB Tedy Bruschi > Mauluaga
NT Vince Wilfork
LILB Jerod Mayo
LDE Ty Warren
LOLB Jason Taylor > Clay Matthews

Please NE fans stop. The only reason there is talk of Peppers being a Pat is you had Matt Cassell and the Panthers could have used the upgrade at QB. Now you do not. The only way the PAts would get Peppers is for 2 first round picks or maybie a 1st and 2 seconds. Marty Hurney has stated this already. The most likely spot for JP to land at this point is Denver due to him being the only equal to or greater value on the market than Jay Cutler.

Why give up a pick and pay Peppers huge money when you can sign Taylor for less money, fewer years and keep the pick? The Patriot Way is to keep guys on shorter contracts and make them earn it, not give away big money to a guy you are not even sure will fit into your system. They didn't give 81 a long contract, so why would Peppers be any different. Taylor and the pick makes more sense.

Rosevelt Colvin--OLB--top tier Linebacker coming off back-to-back 10 sack seasons

Adalius Thomas--OLB--coming off of several excellent seasons in a row

Now someone tell me why Julius Peppers wouldn't be a target for a trade/signing?

The limitations on the Pats are mostly self-imposed. They need to clear quite a bit of cap to get a deal done, so that Peppers franchise tendered signed contract can come here and then so we can sign him to an extension. That's the first obstacle and it will take quite a bit to earn the room. Randy Moss can't restructure his contract again. We would need to find cap room from other players. Brady could restructure his contract or sign an extension, which could potentially cut the deficit by a few million. Matt Light is another possibility. The Pats want to extend Seymour and an extension could perhaps cut his cost by a million or so. Jarvis Green, Nick Kaczur, Kevin Faulk, Sam Aiken, and Pierre Woods could all have their contracts acted on in some way to create cap. The real question for the Pats isn't whether than can get Peppers, but rather if they would put in the effort to get him and perhaps extend some of their players as well. Green, Kaczur, Seymour, Light, Brady, and Faulk could all be extended with lower cap costs. Once Peppers is extended, the Pats could probably extend both Wilfork and Mankins as well and stay under the cap this season. Similar creativity in future years could deal with those projected caps. Of course with the NFLPA and owners going to war, there doesn't seem likely to be a 2011 NFL season.

why hasnt the pats organization denied any of this?if its only a rumor,or if they are not intreasted,I would think they would have cleared the air also.

Wilfork & Mankins' long-term success in this franchise > Peppers' presumably-inflated contract.

Jason Taylor will be a Patriot this year, and we'll draft well. I'm psyched. I just hope the team negotiates wisely with the guys already on the team to avoid messy problems in 2010, 2011, etc.

Don't want him - don't need him. Not at that price. Just draft all defense next year and the Pats'll be fine.

People, the cost is only too high...if the cost is too high. Remember when the cost of retaining Moss in a multi-year deal was going to be too high?

Schefter is just ticked that he got scooped. If Belichick is looking for REAL impact on defense, Peppers gives him that. Seymour has been a huge disappointment the last 2 years - just not an impact player. I say get Julius and trade Seymour (or Thomas) for a low #1 or high #2 pick. In the long run, the contract money will be a wash, and you'll have a disrupter on D.

Do you guys really think Carolina wants to pay Julius Peppers $16+ million dollars???? And all of you who say that Peppers is inconsistent... well that means that his trade value is down. It was the same thing with Matt Cassel, there was NO WAY we were keeping him and paying him $14 million. We franchised him so that we could get something in return. Well, I have a hunch that Carolina is doing the same thing. They don't want to pay an inconsistent, unhappy player $16 million. They want to get rid of him and get something in return. That puts the Patriots in a position of strength. The only impediment is the long term deal. Will Peppers take less than market value to play for w inner? Only time will tell.

so let's see......one "NFL insider" has the Patriots on the verge of getting Peppers and another "NFL insider" is saying he's 99.9% sure the Pats WON'T be getting Peppers..........face it, these guys just take wild guesses when it comes to this stuff........."NFL insiders" my eye.......and once your established like these guys it doesn't matter if they are right or wrong. They have the jobs for life, just like the Pope.

Put me in the we-ain't-gettin'-Peppers column and I fine with that. A guy who has all but admitted to tanking in '07 b/c he didn't like his contract? Sorry, but BB won't trade a decent pick in a loaded draft, plus shell out megabucks for football's Manny Ramirez. And god love 'im for it!

What might he do? Maybe create a lot of smoke (Peppers) to disguise the real fire that he's stoking (J. Taylor)? Taylor makes so much more sense: cheaper, undervalued & rested (coming off injured '08), allows the team to manage Wilfork's re-signing, BB knows Taylor like the back of his hand from scouting the Fins, Taylor gets a chance to play against his old Fins team that let him go to DC -- it all makes too much sense and I frankly would feel more confident with Taylor's knowns than with Peppers's unknowns.

I was going to say earlier that the really big part of this story was professional yes man and cliche recycler Vic Carucci actually breaking a story. No surprise to hear an actual great NFL reporter tossing cold H2O on it.

Belichick uses the draft to bolster next year's draft. It's like a pension to him. He only takes the interest and never touches the principal.

And Mark Texiera is a lock to be signing with the Red Sox right?

There is a fine line between being a sports writer and fantasy novels.

The weathermen are more accurate than most reporters.

shefter is 99% stupid. the panthers have to deal peppers and there are only 4 teams he is willing to go to. that makes it a 25% chance.
the cowboys dont have a first rounder to deal so the chance is up to 33%.
with all those picks we are best trading partner
SO THERE

Two words, baby: uncapped year

The amount of wishful thinking and illogic is staggering. There simply won't be room under the cap for Peppers in 2011. They wouldn't trade for him for only 1 season. They know they MUST re-sign Wilfork, and I'm sure they would like to have room to re-sign Seymour also if the price is right. End of story. Carucci is trying to get attention for the league and himself, or possibly trying to help Peppers agent drum up interest in getting Peppers out of Carolina. Taylor is older and more likely to take the kind of discounted deal that would be available.

we still have a 1% chance baby!!!!

Shefter is the best for inside info and commentary in football. Move on Pats fans. No biggie.

maybe finally billicheck has relized that 40 somthings like seau cant take a team deep into the playoffs and say what you want about peppers "sparks" but anyone who avrages 10 sacks a season can spark all they want. the guy is a beast and a long term deal is more than reasonable wait there not the kind of team to sign big name players hmmm Dillion, Moss, Thomas, Harrison, yah maybe they arent willing to throw every nickle and dime at a guy but youd be crazy to think hes not atleast going to try

So much for that...

Seymour is too banged up, MISSES TOO MANY GAMES and maybe has 2 more years left in the TANK!!!!

I am a Panthers Fan, I use to love Peppers until he took the year off acting like a spoiled brate because he couldn't get his way. I would not be a fan of his now if he signed a contract with the Panthers for mim. wadge for the rest of his time he plays football. Him and his pal jenkins both thought they were better the team. They both IN ThEIR OWN MINS ONLY think they are God's gift to football. Nether are true team players they are cry babies and need to leave football to Players that love to Play the Game. We (Panthers Fans) know with indivuals such as Peppers and Jenkins on a team, you can never be a SB winner because they are not true team Players

I am a Panthers Fan, I use to love Peppers until he took the year off acting like a spoiled brate because he couldn't get his way. I would not be a fan of his now if he signed a contract with the Panthers for mim. wadge for the rest of his time he plays football. Him and his pal jenkins both thought they were better the team. They both IN ThEIR OWN MINS ONLY think they are God's gift to football. Nether are true team players they are cry babies and need to leave football to Players that love to Play the Game. We (Panthers Fans) know with indivuals such as Peppers and Jenkins on a team, you can never be a SB winner because they are not true team Players

Schefter's argument seems to be that Peppers is not a 'Patriots type' player. That may turn out to be true, but forecasting what Belichick will do is fraught with difficulty. All we know is that Bill knows.

Bill knows.

Schefter has no idea what he is talking about. I used to play football and it's obvious that Peppers wants to play for a winning team. I think here is a 95% chance he goes to the Patriots and a 5% chance that he goes to the Dolphins. That leaves a 0% chance for him to stay put, which is the opposite of what Schefter said! All I can say is, "Duh!"

I agree with the guy, Peppers does cost a monster load of cash. However, he is a incredible DE, but in the 3-4 defense he would have to go to outside backer, that playing basketball in NCU proves he could handle it. The only problem is that the trade cost with the cap he takes up, is a hard deal to make. All and all, Peppers should be a Panther!!!!
Like Michael Strahan, stay with the ones who saw your potential from the very begining

This story has raised a red flag with me since I read it. The reason. The Patriots never do business in public and "will sign between March 22 and the draft" sounds way too vague. All there is is Carucci and someone unknown source, sounds a lot like Tomase who jumped all over this in today's Herald. Watching Belichick all these years, it doesn't feel right. The locker room salary pecking order is a big thing too. Also, Schefter is right way more often than he is wrong. I'm not saying it can't happen, just that there is a lot about this story so far that doesn't ring true.

The Heb is too cheap.

I'm not sure I like this whole deal. It's starting to remind me of two bad experiences in recent Red Sox history: Manny and Teixera. Manny, in the sense that Peppers is treating Carolina like Manny treated us to get out of dodge. And Teixera, in the sense that with teams like Dallas in the mix, is he really worth it? Why break the bank on this guy, who's immensely talented, but clearly has issues. I'm glad we don't have Teixera, and Manny, well, whatever.

i too believe it wont happen.

although i would LOVE to see him in a pats uniform.

heres the thing... the pats wont pay.. thats for CERTAIN. so the ONLY way peppers will ever be a patriot is if he takes a big big pay cut... lets say he signs for Adalius Thomas money... not bad... 4 or 5 mil a year over 3 or 4 years... thats already one huge contract for new england, but for a guy that could make 16.7 million in just one year, i just dont see him signing with the pats.. and i doubt the pats would go any higher than a Thomas contract.

That however is the only thing wrong with scheffter's report... he doesnt consider the fact that players want to play in new england and 75% are willing to take a big pay cut to partake in what is this decade's winningest franchise.

(PS: QUESTION: isnt there something wrong with this franchise number? 16.7 million seems a LITTLE TOO MUCH for a DE... i mean cassel only got 14.65, and hes a quarterback... am i missing something here?)

The Patriots will never get Peppers and I dont need Shitler to tell me that. Although Shitler is right about a couple of things.First and formost Peppers is not the player people think he is.He is very good,not great, pads his stats when the game is out of hand.Second it would be too much money for him, he is not worth it.He cant play inside only outside,making a Mike Vabrel more valuable then him.Mankins, Seymore and Wilfork are all critical to the Pats and the must get Paid.If any of you think the Pats will get Peppers, then you dont know football.

Pats fans sometimes think too much about the future rather than trying to win another championship. Peppers would help "Big Time" now. We would finally have a pash rush. Seymour is injury prone and can be replaced. Worse case we win another superbowl next year and lose a few players to free agency. I would rather win a 4th superbowl than another good couple of years without a championship.

It would be exciting to have Peppers in NE, but it doesn't seem doable on to many levels.

Let me say this first, I do not really see Peppers coming to New England. Now, having said that, how does anybody know how much money he is looking for. JP said no matter what he is not playing in Carolina, and on top of that rumours are he will only agree to play for 4 different teams, the Pats being one of them. If this is the case then the Pats have all the leverage. Panthers need to either sign him to an extension or get rid of him to get some cap space back, and if the other 3 teams are not interested than Peppers is going to have to take a pay cut to come here. So if Bill wants him we can get him to a similar deal to Thomas'. Next to the people that say he cannot play in a 3-4. He cannot cover the flats and whatnot. All I have to say is Willie "The Godfather" McGinest. Peppers would play a very similiar OLB style Willie played. Playing downhill 75-80 percent of the time and dropping into the flat and shallow middle of the field the rest of the time. He could be better than McGinest even. So to end my novel here I do not think he is coming to town, but to all the people who say he is not coming because of money issues or he cannot play OLB in a 3-4, you are just flat out wrong. Anyway, can't wait to see what happens come draft day!!

Looks like Schefter is really affected by the move. Barring the compensation, I bet you 99.9% Peppers will be in NE uniform.

How bout this scenario?

We all know contract extensions are needed for Wilfork and mankins. So lets say the Pats trade for Peppers making him the starting OLB opposite Adalius Thomas. Now obviously Peppers would need a lot of money and how could the Pats giver it to him and give out extensions for both Wilfork and Mankins? Well, the Pats just retained a good DL in Mike Wright. What if the Pats were to release Seymour, who lets face it, has declined over the past couple of years. That frees up over 10 million dollars in cap space. Then, the Pats draft Tyson Jackson, DE from LSU, who fits perfectly into the Pats 3-4 scheme. Hes around 295 pounds which is perfect for a DE in a 3-4 defense. So then the Pats have the money for Peppers, Mankins, and Wilfork. And Wright and Jackson split time at the spot Seymour used to be in and you got Peppers and Thomas on the outsite. Sounds pretty good and reasonable to me. What do you guys think?

sadly the panthers can trade peppers to new england but only peppers agent can talk to other teams,not the panthers organization,the panthers just have the autority to accept or decline the deal not make the deal themselves.

forget about peppers and taylor.
Let's bring back chris slade and willie mcginest

This guy is attempting to jump into a media whirlwind without a parachute. Peppers and the Pat's are in the driver's seat here. Julius has the Panther's entire future tied up right now and NE has the luxury of negotiating with an agent rather than a saavy NFL GM. Really, NE can drag their feet during this process because Pepper's wants to play for Billy B. Jerry Jones has already most likely opened the checkbook to JP and the Panthers (hence the reason for cutting T.O. and co.), however, no deal has been made. This tells me Peppers will play for the "right" money and not the most money. Schefter is a tool attempting to grab some shine time (like most pathetic writers).

Pretty much Carucci has a source possibly Peppers agent. If Schefter has talked to anyone it's Carolina or Dallas (the othet possible suitor) ..the Pats don't talk

Carolina can't afford Peppers even if renegotiated. They must deal him off. They might be holding off on a 'sweetener'

Dallas would like him, but have little to trade. The Pats are the only team Peppers would want to go to who have the interest and the ability to acquire him.

He'll be a Pat for something like the #34 and a 4th or 5th rounder.

I think it's hilarious that Adam Schefter, a reporter with impeccable sources, is being disregarded here becuase it doesn't fit with what the 'fans' want. This is a good read guys, keep up the great comments how Schefter is wrong, you're making me laugh.

The reasons that Schefter gave are very sound and to add to his reasoning are:
1) Peppers sat out with 2 years left on his deal to get another contract

2) The patriots, right now, only have 7.8M under the cap. That will NOT get it done for a Peppers contract, no way no how. Keep dreaming about the 'patriot discount', never mind having to sign their draft picks and Logan Mankins too.

3) Vince Wilfork needs to be resigned if the Patriots want to continue to play the 3-4 on any kind of consistent basis. How much do you think it will take to get him locked up?

It truly is amazing how some of you went from a report by Carucci to World Championship in March and now that it a reputable reporter says 'not so fast' everyone is down on him (Schefter). BTW, when's the last time Carucci broke any kind of story?

Mike- Where are you? HURRY BACK PULEEEASE!

Yes, Adam "Matt Cassel will be on the Patriots, 95% positive" Schefter has impeccable sources. Not to bash the guy...everyone is wrong once in awhile...but come on. That was a month ago. This is today, and now it's 99.9%......what's the value of that additional 4.9%? I'd be willing to bet "not much".

Also, does Schefter actually mention a source? No, he just talks about his opinion...whereas Carucci mentions sources. Now, granted, those "sources" could be a ball boy, a cheerleader, and the guy who sells beer in Section 106...but odds are that they're legitimate sources. Couple that with the Panthers non-denial "denial" (where they only said that they hadn't spoken to the Patriots directly, because that would be a violation...blah blah blah), and you know that at least SOMETHING is going on. Does it mean it will work out? No, of course not, but it DOES mean that there's a conversation and if there's interest on both sides, all that remains is details. Those details could EASILY derail any type of potential deal...but it seems like it would be in everyone's best interests to get it done, so hopefully the differences aren't so great that they keep something from happening.

I personality think Adam Shefiner is full of s@@t. This story comes from somewhere, now it may not be the 34 pick but N.E. has the interest and they have the draft picks I think the deal gets done sometime between now and the draft. I like the deal because the difference in N.E. making the playoffs last year is the secondary and lack of pass rush , even though Brady is back and I like Brady like the rest of you, but He doesn’t cover the secondary or rush the passer he would have went 11-5 with that defense we had last year.

My question is how can the Redskins sign Hanesworth to 100 million and D Hall to 56 million and Dockery to 45 million and only have 8 million in cap space . Something sounds fishy here with these numbers N.E. could easily sign Wilfork, Peppers , and Mankins and not have any problem signing them , don't forget next year is an uncapped year N.E. can sign anyone they wont.

My question is how can the Redskins sign Hanesworth to 100 million and D Hall to 56 million and Dockery to 45 million and only have 8 million in cap space . Something sounds fishy here with these numbers N.E. could easily sign Wilfork, Peppers , and Mankins and not have any problem signing them , don't forget next year is an uncapped year N.E. can sign anyone they wont.

It would be a very tight fit, but it can be done. Woods and Watson would need to go, and possibly Bruschi and Maroney, however, the latter mentioned doesn't make a lot of sense due to the fact that cutting or trading him doesn't save much money. Seymour could be a victim as well. The deal becomes much more feasible if that is the case. Seymour is aging and has declined in recent years and the re-signing of Wright could mean he is no longer needed as a pass rusher. Taylor and a drafted OLB might make more sense economically, but Taylor is a huge question mark and the Pats need to draft a top ILB. This offseason reminds me of the one prior to the 16-0 season, so I will not be surprised if Peppers is playing in Foxboro.

I love it when all the joe-six-packs out there become capologists and start to throw numbers around. First, the franchise tag is meaningless because peppers has not accepted it. Consequently, the rights and salary that would have existed if he were a franchised player are meaningless, so forget about the FP BS.
Peppers is simply an unhappy player curently under contract to the panthers. It's up to his agent to negotiate a deal between the panthers , the patriots and peppers, one that everyone is happy with.

Well no, Peppers isn't currently under contract with anyone. Unless/Until he signs the franchise tender, he's a player under contract with no one. He still has the option to sign a contract with ANY team, but if another team signs him to a contract, the Panthers would receive two first round picks as compensation.

Now, if a deal is worked out between the Pats and Peppers (i.e. they agree on the terms of a contract, but don't actually sign anything), they can then present that deal to the Panthers, along with possible compensation, at which point the Panthers agree to it, then Peppers signs the franchise tender (making him a player under contract with the Panthers), who then trade him to the Patriots for whatever picks, and the Patriots then sign Peppers to the contract they had previously drawn up.

Now, the step where the Peppers signs the tender could be flipped with compensation talks (that would allow the teams to [legally] negotiate directly), but Peppers would be an idiot to sign the tender if he didn't know there was at least a "wink wink, nudge nudge" understanding that Carolina would accept the NE offer (in terms of picks), because then Carolina could up and trade him to anyone they wanted.

I am not sure I understand the infatuation of Jason Taylor "today", 2009. If the Pats opt for JT I hope only if it is for league minimum and full of incentives. The Pats traded Vrabel as a salary dump and because Vrabel was considered to be in the twilight years. Jason Taylor is a year older than Vrabel. JT is coming off a injury plagued season. Over the last two seasons JT has LESS tackles(both solo and assisted), sacks, forced fumbles, and interceptions than Mike Vrabel had. Vrabel was also a defensive captain and at times wore the Green dot on his helmet. Vrabel was only going to count like 4.5 mil against the cap this year. If JT comes to the Pats I hope it is for less than 4.5mil.

I am not even sure how much he wants to play anymore. He walked away from 8.5mil simply because he didn't want to train at a particular location for 4-8 weeks. I think his wife would understand 8.5mil for a few weeks away, especially since he could retire in a year or so.