CHARLOTTE -- It was with an eye to the entire roster -- and not just one player -- that the Panthers opted not to place the franchise-player designation on defensive end Julius Peppers for a second consecutive season.
"With the magnitude of the tender it would take to franchise him and how it fits into the big picture with our team, we made the decision to not franchise Julius," general manager Marty Hurney said Tuesday afternoon. "It's obviously a very difficult decision because he's a tremendous player."
Hurney said that the door remained open for Peppers to return if he so desired in unrestricted free agency, but acknowledged that scenario was unlikely.
"We never say never; we always have an open mind," Hurney said. "I will say this, now: I've been doing this 20 or so years and history would indicate that when a player of Julius's caliber gets to this point, seldom does it happen that (such a player) returns."
Hurney said he relayed the franchise's decision to Carl Carey, Peppers's agent, on Monday, bringing an end to a 12-month period that saw the defensive end emerge with a fifth Pro Bowl appearance but without a long-term contract.
"Seventeen (million dollars) last year -- we did that in the hopes of being able to reach a multi-year agreement and we weren't able to do that," Hurney said. "We made what I would term a very aggressive effort to do that and were not able to reach agreement before the (negotiation) deadline in July.
Placing a franchise-player designation on Peppers for a second consecutive year would have required a commitment that exceeded $20 million.
"Maybe the numbers back-to-back had something to do with it, as well," Hurney said, "but with that number, and having our younger players that will need to be addressed at some point, we just felt that the right decision was not to put the tag on him.
"It's the makeup of your team; it's trying to be balanced as far as salary structure and keeping as many good players as you can. I said it before and I believe it today: Julius is an excellent player and you never want to let players like that go. But I think what we have to do -- and what makes it so hard -- is that we have to deal with 53, 60-some players in mind to try to be competitive each year."
Hurney said the ongoing collective bargaining agreement issues did "not really" play a part in the Peppers decision.
"There's always a lot of factors. You always have one eye to the future, and certainly when there's an uncertain future it just adds another factor," Hurney said. "I think this is more about keeping a balance on your team as far as the makeup (of it)."
Those contract situations -- which Hurney did not specify -- will be dealt with in the future.
"I don't know. You have conversations, and there's a lot of things to figure out (in regards to) how things come together. At some point -- whether it's now or down the road -- that's definitely something that has to get a lot of attention."
Of most immediate concern for the new league year is the absence of a salary cap and salary floor and the change in unrestricted free-agent eligibility, with the number of seasons required prior to UFA status increasing to six for this season. What lies beyond is the unknown, with no collective bargaining agreement in place for 2011.
"These are uncertain times, so it does make it a little bit more complicated to put all the pieces together as far as the future goes, but we will make every effort to do that," Hurney said.
Hurney reiterated the team's commitment to performing the bulk of its roster-building work through the draft rather than free agency.
"We prefer to go that route," Hurney said.
"Over the last several years, our belief and philosophy is more toward trying to build through the draft. That's not to say you don't use every avenue; you do, you do all the time. But I feel our philosophy is what works best for us -- and that is bringing guys in, getting them young, teaching them your way, bringing them up. They know what to expect; they know the organization; they know what we expect of them."
Last season, 30 of the 40 Panthers who started at least once were players who have never played a regular-season snap for another team. Another player, wide receiver
Hurney and the team's coaches and scouts now depart for Indianapolis, where the National Scouting Combine begins Wednesday.
HURNEY ALSO DECLINED TO DESIGNATE A STARTING QUARTERBACK, saying that it was "way too early to answer" who would be under center when the upcoming season begins.
"We all know we need consistent play at quarterback. I think what we've done is taken time and gone through the process. Competition always answers most of those questions," Hurney said. "Sometimes you let competition decide those things."
SURGERIES GO 'FINE' FOR RUNNERS:
