Another PFT story gone bad - Steve Smith out in Carolina

Feel free to close this thread if it has been mentioned before, I scanned the forum didn't see it mentioned.

SMITH THE ODD MAN OUT IN CAROLINA?

When making our weekly appearance with Chris McClain on WFNZ (the station that hosted the all-time classic "move on or move out" moment), we were discussing the possibility that the Panthers have refrained from adding many new free agents this year because they soon will have to address the long-term status of defensive end Julius Peppers and left/right tackle Jordan Gross. [Editor's note: A prior version of this item said that Gross is a left tackle. He has played both positions.]

Peppers and Gross are both entering the final seasons of their rookie contracts. Peppers has a cap number in 2007 of nearly $15 million. This means that, if the team decides to use the franchise tag on Peppers in 2008, his one-year salary will be nearly $18 million.

Gross is a solid tackle. And solid tackles rarely are available in free agency; when they are, they get paid a lot of money, as Leonard Davis learned last month.

To complicate matters, there were strong rumors last year that Steve Smith is quietly pissed off about his contract. He signed an extension in 2004, before his breakout season of 2005. With three years left at salaries of $3.15 million, $3.6 million, and $4.2 million, Smith obviously is underpaid in comparison to the money spent this year on guys like Drew Bennett and Kevin Curtis.

So what will the Panthers do? Surely, they can't break the bank for all three of them. And the Panthers haven't won enough big games to persuade players to give the team a discount in order to continue a culture of championships.

Each guy is going to want to get paid, and the Panthers can't pay them all. The fact that Smith has yet to get an adjustment to his deal suggests to us that he's going to be the odd man out, with the Panthers more likely to invest the long-term dollars into the players who, based on the positions they occupy, will be more likely to continue to perform at a high level as they age.

The best strategy would be to get Peppers signed early in 2008 and to use the tag on Gross. Then, they should trade Smith before he goes ballistic once he sees how much money two members of the team not named Stevonne Smith will be making.

Bottom line -- this is the reality of having very good players at multiple positions at the same time. There are only so many guys on a team who can get paid really big money, and someone in the front office should be answering tough questions about the negotiation of Peppers' rookie contract, which has now put the team in a very sticky situation for 2007 and for 2008.

 

the Jerry Richardson interview said otherwise

 

who wrote that trash? Gross' agent? there's no way in Hell I'd franchise tag him, he's not worth the money.

 

I heard the spot on the radio. It's why he has us taking a receiver in round one.

 

I didn't post it because I didn't think it was worth mentioning. That's just a fyer. If it actually happens, he looks good. He isn't even quoting a rumor. Just speculation. Of the 3, I bet Smith gets the 1st contract.

 

WTF? Funny how the "odd" man out still has three years left on his contract. Then we could tag him for another. From a business perspective the Panthers are in the drivers seat but you of course don't want a pissed off Smith. Smith could get paid really good now or "freakin awsome" by another team in 3 or 4 years when he's much older and maybe doesn't command the type of money he could get now.

It's a trade off. Another year of getting younger and getting rid of some high paided vets like Rucker and Jenkins and we can afford to pay Smith and Peppers. I think some of these players might already have made clear what price range they're in. The Panthers have been making a ton of moves in contract restructures to free up money.

My real question is what are Pep, Gross, and Smitty worth or more to the point, what will it take to sign them?

I'm actually pretty scared of what it's going to take to keep Peppers.

 

Me too.

 

If that's the case it'd make more since for us to take Ginn Jr. and he's gone AFTER the Panthers' pick in a couple of their rounds.

 

Weren't those rumors last year PFT's? It's kind of pathetic when you use your own rumors as the source to support another rumor you’re trying to start.

 

PFT said there was speculation around the league. If there was, it wouldnt surprise me. League sources like to gossip just as much as 80 year old women have a reputation of doing. Anyone has an injury, there is speculation about it.