Julius Peppers wants to leave the panthers

In an unfortunate series of events, Julius Peppers, a star defensive end for the Carolina Panthers football team has been seeking to leave the team when his contract expires. He recently stated, according to the Charlotte Observer, that he will ask for a trade if the team spends the money to tag his as a franchise player.

I'm not really clear on what the tagging means, but since he is a free agent, if the panthers put down some money, they can say that Julius is a player that is irreplaceable and that they have a stake in his career and try to trade him. Otherwise, his contract has expired and he can do whatever he wants. Julius hass made it pretty clear that he wants to get out of Carolina. He said that he would ask for a trade if the team tagged him but hasn't made any other statements about what he would do if that didn't happen.

It's a shame becaus Peppers is from eastern North Carolina, went to Chapel Hill and eventually played for the panthers, making Charlotte his home for seven years. He became a big part of their defensive team. He is a big guy, but he can keep up with some of the fastest players on the field, making tackles way downfield.