Panthers do a year's worth of work in 45 minutes

By Darin Gantt - daringantt@carolina.rr.com

CHARLOTTE -- The dizzying pace of Thursday afternoon barely left time for breath, much less perspective.

But after the smoke from the Carolina Panthers flash-fire afternoon cleared, one fact became evident.

If you're going to take a position, you better stick to it even when it hurts, and not ever back off.

If you're the Carolina Panthers, that means overpaying to keep one and drawing a line in the sand to protect your investment on the other.

If you're Jordan Gross, it means turning away astronomical dollars for merely huge ones.

If you're Julius Peppers, it means becoming a pariah, when all you really wanted was a shot at liberty and the pursuit of your own happiness.

Welcome to the down-is-up afternoon of the Panthers, a frenzied sequence in which they spent more money than any other single day in franchise history, created an icon and a villain and did it all in under 45 minutes.

Around 12:40 p.m. local time, Gross was signing his name on a new six-year contract which could be worth nearly $60 million. By 1:20 p.m., the Panthers had called Peppers' agent and slapped the franchise tag on him, setting the stage for a potentially long and messy divorce.

Keeping Gross was a no-brainer, the hard-won cost of doing business and finally building an offensive line that others would be interested in.

The money was big, but he turned away bigger.

"It was tough, because they had a number they wanted to stay within," Gross said. "But if I go into the (free agent) market, the sky would have been the limit.

"I took a cut to stay here, but it was important for me to be in a place I wanted to be, and to make sure we were able to have a competitive team."

Gross admitted the heat on the negotiations went way up in the last four days, when the Panthers were scrambling to get him done so they could retain leverage by tagging Peppers. Everyone knew the situation, and the enormous leverage his side enjoyed. They could have easily squeezed them for more, because frankly, the Panthers were in a spot they had to pay up.

"My wife and I were talking about that," Gross said. "But at the same time, if I'm going to stay, I want to be on a competitive team. I knew the situation, but I wanted to make sure the team was in the best position possible."

That included a late plea for general manager Marty Hurney to hang on to his pal Geoff Hangartner, another pending free agent. "I told Marty to get busy," Gross said with a laugh. "We need to sign Hangartner, make sure he's staying, too."

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location or his new favorite city (we know now it's not Charlotte), Peppers was left to stew.

His side made an early run Wednesday, trying to dissuade the Panthers from tagging him by threatening to stifle the market. He said through his agent there were only four teams he'd agree to go to.

They were hoping to make the Panthers blink, or that the Gross talks would hit a late snag. Neither happened.

Hurney said all the right things when he had his turn to talk, even that they'd welcome Peppers back.

It's too late for a reconciliation. Peppers has guaranteed that, by saying more in the last six weeks than the last seven years.

He's not a bad guy because he wants out, wants to play in a new system in a new city for a new challenge.

He's always known he was a special talent, telling his college teammates "Imagine if I worked hard?" after doing whatever amazing thing he had just done. Peppers clearly has the vision of dominating the game in a unique way with his unique talents, and with all that he and his camp have put forth, it's clear that he doesn't think that can happen here.

So now the market has to do its thing.

The Panthers will wait to see if someone's desperate for him, two first-round picks worth.

Peppers has to wait to see if the suitors he expects arrive.

And Gross gets to sit back and soak it all in, the third and only truly happy leg of this love-hate triangle.

There's a chance everyone wins, but unlike Thursday, it's going to take weeks to see how it plays out.