Chicago Bears release DE Julius Peppers to avoid huge salary cap hit

Julius Peppers is no longer a member of the Chicago Bears. (Simon Bruty/SI) In perhaps the least surprising and most inevitable move throughout the 2014 free

Doug Farrar | Mar 11, 2014

Chicago Bears release DE Julius Peppers to avoid huge salary cap hit /

Julius Peppers is no longer a member of the Chicago Bears. (Simon Bruty/SI)

In perhaps the least surprising and most inevitable move throughout the 2014 free agency process, the Chicago Bears have released defensive Julius Peppers. The Bears were trying to shop the veteran defensive lineman in recent days, but they didn't really expect any takers due to Peppers' age (34), declining production (just 7.5 sacks in 2013) and enormous cap hit in 2014 (over $18 million). In the end, his release was an inevitability, especially after the team signed former Oakland Raiders defensive lineman LaMarr Houston to a five-year, $35 million contract with $15 million guaranteed on Tuesday.

“We appreciate Julius’ contributions to the Bears over the last four years,” General Manager Phil Emery said in a statement. “He was a leader on our defense starting every game since coming to Chicago. His accomplishments over his NFL career place him among the best defensive ends over the past 20 years. The Chicagoland community has benefited greatly from his quiet generosity. We wish him the best.”

The Bears signed Peppers to a six-year, $91 million contract with $42.5 million guaranteed in March of 2010, and he was perhaps the most coveted free agent that year after several outstanding seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He was selected by Carolina with the second overall pick of the 2002 draft out of North Carolina, and he amassed 81 sacks in eight seasons for them. For the Bears, Peppers put up 34 sacks in four seasons -- not quite what was expected, and he did tend to disappear at times. Peppers increased his value in recent seasons by moving inside to tackle on a situational basis, but his best season came with 11.5 sacks in 2012 -- not what one would expect for the contract he received.

With 119 sacks through his career, Peppers has the third-most of any active player, behind John Abraham's 133.5 and Jared Allen's 128.5. And now, three of the top four active sack leaders are on the open market -- Allen, Peppers, and DeMarcus Ware (117), who was released by the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday.

Last November, Peppers admitted that he's closer to the end of his career than the beginning.

he told the Chicago Tribune

Published Mar 11, 2014

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.