Peppers agrees to 1-year, $16.7M deal with Jaguars

Julius Peppers' stalemate with the Carolina Panthers is over, leaving the defensive end rich and the NFC South champions free from worrying about a holdout.

Peppers signed his 1-year, $16.7 million tender yesterday, 5 months after the four-time Pro Bowl selection first announced he wanted to play elsewhere next season. It means Peppers, Carolina's all-time sacks leader, should be present for the start of training camp.

"Recently, I've had positive and productive discussions with the organization," Peppers said in a statement released by his agent, Carl Carey. "I am optimistic and focused as I look forward to the upcoming NFL season."

Shortly after the Panthers were eliminated in the playoffs in January, Peppers said he was "maxed out" and wanted to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense. He insisted he would never sign a long-term contract with the Panthers and pleaded for them to not place the restrictive franchise tag on him. The Panthers did it anyway. It meant the Panthers had to give him a contract that would pay him more than $1 million a game, but another team couldn't sign him unless it gave Carolina two first-round draft picks in return.

Peppers refused to sign the tender or attend offseason minicamps and optional workouts. While Carey said they received some interest from other teams, no deal was struck.

Noteworthy

 

* Linebacker Michael Boley, who signed a 5-year, $25 million contract with the New York Giants as a free agent, had hip surgery and almost certainly will miss the start of training camp.

Boley, who played for Atlanta the past four seasons, had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum he suffered during the Giants' offseason program.

* The Jacksonville Jaguars have indicated they want to trade wide receiver Dennis Northcutt, his agent Jerome Stanley told ESPN.com in an e-mail.

Northcutt, who signed with Jaguars as a free agent in 2007 caught 88 passes for 1,146 yards and six touchdowns in 29 games with Jacksonville.