Published: Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 / Updated: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009 12:55 AM

Panthers sign Gross, slap franchise tag on Peppers

CHARLOTTE -- Julius Peppers raised the stakes Wednesday, so Thursday was the Carolina Panthers turn to call.

Depending on one's perspective, they might have just raked the pot -- reclaiming a measure of control of the awkward situation by placing the franchise tag on the disgruntled defensive end.

That came moments after they came to a six-year contract extension with left tackle Jordan Gross, making it the most expensive day in franchise history.

Gross' deal could top out near $60 million, and will pay him a record $30.5 in the first three seasons. Peppers' franchise tag will guarantee him $16.683 million for the year.

"Putting the franchise tag on him enables him to talk to other teams and get an offer sheet, under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement," general manager Marty Hurney said when asked about Peppers. "We would have the right to match that and get two first-round picks. We've had good communication with him. I don't think it took him by surprise.

"We've said many times how much we value Julius. We'd like him to play here, as far as the franchise tag, those are the rules under the CBA. He has the right to talk to teams and solicit an offer sheet."

While the Panthers are saying all the right things now, there's not much chance of Peppers staying. He's already said he'd request a trade if the Panthers tagged him, in hopes of strong-arming them into dealing him to one of four hand-picked teams.

"We were expecting the tag," agent Carl Carey said Thursday, moments after talking to Hurney. "And we will continue to seek a resolution that's in line with Julius' professional goals."

The only problem toward that end is the Panthers seem content to wait them out. If a team is willing to cough up a pair of first-rounders (as they themselves did in 1998 for Washington's Sean Gilbert), the Panthers would happily accept the bounty. Other such impasses have been resolved through trades (Jared Allen brought Kansas City a first and two thirds from Minnesota last year), but Hurney didn't even entertain those questions.

For now, he's willing to let the process work.

Their strategy isn't without risk. Peppers will count against the cap until he's either signed away or dealt. Having 13.6 percent of this year's salary cap allotment of $123 million tied up in one guy could limit their ability to do make other moves to improve the team.

But Hurney had his best poker face on Thursday, and that threat wasn't going to be enough to make him fold.

"No, I think we feel the fact we have Jordan Gross under contract and Julius Peppers franchised so you retain those two players, you help your team a lot," he said. "It's like anything else, you make decisions and you deal with the cap. We have those discussions every day. You formulate plans and you look ahead, but I wouldn't characterize it like that at all."

The next step will be for Carey to shop his client around the league to see if anyone bites on the big demand.

It shouldn't take long, as they've already narrowed the field to four teams. The source which outlined Peppers plans Wednesday clarified the position Thursday, saying that Dallas and one AFC team were in the mix, but the other two were not NFC South teams as was previously believed. One of those teams is likely Philadelphia, which doesn't run the 3-4 Peppers has talked about playing in, but does have a more aggressive defense in general.

The Eagles have a pair of first-rounders this year, including Carolina's from last year's draft-day trade which brought right tackle Jeff Otah to Charlotte. Washington might also be in the mix (despite not running a 3-4), but the Redskins are without second- and fourth-rounders this year from previous trades, giving them a lack of ammunition to try to make a deal.

The free agency period begins Feb. 27, and it'll likely take much longer for this situation to resolve itself.

Hurney's stance makes it clear they're willing to sit on Peppers and not rush into making a deal for less compensation. That might still happen, but they've shown a stubborn streak in the past.

As for Gross, his retention was a priority as well, dating back to last year's decision to franchise him. Of course, a year ago, they were talking about a deal averaging more than $7 million a year.

Then the 28-year-old tackle went out and turned in his best season, earning All-Pro honors and his first Pro Bowl trip, which made the cost of doing business much higher.

By virtue of the three-year payout, Gross' deal became the richest ever for an offensive lineman, and moved him past Peppers' rookie deal and cornerback Chris Gamble's recent extension as the highest-paid player in franchise history.

"Definitely the price went up this year," Gross said from his offseason home in Idaho. "But the value of what you're doing goes up at left tackle, too. That was trouble at first, it was a hard pill for them to swallow.

"But in the end, I think they got a good price."

Gross said he could have likely gotten more on the open market next week, but chose to stay with the team that drafted him eighth overall in the 2003 draft. He's started 95 of a possible 96 games. He's also become the rock of an offensive line that's suddenly a strength of the team, as they set new records this year for sacks allowed (20) and rushing yards (2,437).

"Jordan's one of the leaders of our offensive line and our team," Hurney said. "He's a guy who's an excellent player and he's a perfect fit for our team and our organization as a player and individual. He's one of the top left tackles in the league and our offensive line, I think, was one of the strong parts of the team last year. Jordan was a very, very big part of it."