The NFL free agency period is about to start up on Tuesday and a number of players have been mentioned in trade rumors ahead of that, including Julius Peppers of the Chicago Bears along Steve Smith and Darrelle Revis and teams that could be interested in a deal for the DE include the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys.
The Redskins, Lions, Texans, Bucs and Cowboys all finished in the bottom of the league in total sacks and while they may not have the cap space to pull off a trade, they are potential targets for Peppers if no deal goes down and he is cut. The Bears defense was a mess last season and head coach Marc Trestman is looking to free the team up of some money to spend on players, including possibly Michael Bennett. According to SI.com, the Bears have been looking to trade Peppers ahead of the free agency deadline start, as he is 34 years old and costs $18.183 million on the cap for his $13.9 million contract this season.
While that number is likely too high for teams to take on, someone could jump ahead, as Peppers still has skills despite his age and a down season in 2013 with 46 tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles and this comes after he previously signed a six-year, $84 million contract. The team would love to get a deal done for Peppers, but that is unlikely due to his high cap number and he comes in after having 119 career sacks and 39 forced fumbles. Adam Schefter reported that a trade is unlikely and that Peppers will be let go by the Bears.
Bennett was reportedly interested in signing with the Bears, but he now looks like he will be back with the Seahawks and that came after a one year deal for $5 million. The Bears come in after being 32nd in the league in rushing yards allowed per game and they were also tied for last in the league with the Jaguars in sacks and now Peppers will likely be let go to be a free agent.