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Tag: julius peppers

  • Chicago Bears Sign Jared Allen With 4-Year Contract

    One of the best remaining free agents in the NFL on the defensive side of the ball has finally found a new home. The Chicago Bears just agreed to terms with Jared Allen, who has been a big star for the Vikings over the past 6 seasons.

    Jared Allen is a defensive end, and has been with the Minnesota Vikings since 2008. Prior to joining the Chicago Bears, he has been to the Pro Bowl 4 of the past 6 years, and has a total of 128.5 career sacks, which places him at 12th in the history of the NFL.

    The deal could be worth up to $32 million, which would include $15.5 million in guaranteed money, and could void after three years, and $24 million. Allen should be a valuable asset for the Bears after getting in on 93 percent of the Vikings’ snaps from 2008 to 2013.

    The Chicago Bears had one of the best defenses in the league several years ago with Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, but in the past few years, they have struggled greatly. They were kept out of the playoffs last year after Jay Cutler was injured for most of the season, and they were poor on the offensive end as well.

    Prior to the signing Allen, the Chicago Bears had released veteran Julius Peppers in order to make room for others, and bring in new talent. Peppers has since signed with their rivals, the Green Bay Packers.

    Since the Vikings and Bears are in the same division, the NFC North, Jared Allen will be able to continue to pursue the quarterbacks that he has already become familiar with, and the Bears also play with a similar defensive style that he is used to. It was previously rumored around the time of the trade deadline that Allen could have been traded, and several teams had shown interest.

    Allen should be a nice addition to the Chicago Bears, and coach Mark Trestman showed his excitement to introduce him to the program when saying “We know what his abilities bring to the table. We believe he’s going to come in hungry and excited to be part of our football team, and we believe he’ll fit right in.”

    The Chicago Bears should see a great improvement with their defense after signing Jared Allen. He needs only 4.5 sacks to move into sole possession of 10th place on the career list, and he could climb as high as fifth next season, and pass Michael Strahan, since all he has to do is record 13.5 sacks.

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  • DeMarcus Ware Inks New Deal With Denver Broncos

    DeMarcus Ware was released from the Dallas Cowboys recently, and he already has a new job with the Denver Broncos. The veteran pass rusher became one of the most wanted free agents as soon as he was let go, and the Broncos took advantage.

    He has been one of the stars on a struggling Dallas Cowboys for several years, and perhaps after being added to the Broncos he will be able to make even more of a difference for them.

    According to ESPN, DeMarcus Ware has reached an agreement with the Denver Broncos on a three-year, $30 million contract, which includes $20 million in guaranteed money. The deal is set to earn Ware $13 million this season, which is $250,000 more than he would have received from the Dallas Cowboys.

    Ware is an aging star in the NFL, and at the age of 31, his best days may be behind him. However, he may be able to make a difference for the Broncos in his last few seasons in the NFL. Last season, he was plagued with injury, and only had 6 recorded sacks, although he was only forced to miss 3 games after toughing it out. He had averaged 15.5 sacks per season up until then.

    The power of the offense is what got the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl last season, but perhaps their defense will receive a big boost with the addition of DeMarcus Ware, and be an even bigger threat next year. The Cowboys released Ware, their all-time leader in sacks, in order to save $7.4 million against the salary cap.

    In addition to DeMarcus Ware being released, Julius Peppers was also released from the Chicago Bears, and as one of the top free agents on defense, it will be interesting to see who ends up signing the veteran defensive end.

    Ware had spent his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys after being drafted in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft. The all-star pass rusher recorded 117 sacks in nine seasons.

    DeMarcus Ware had a lackluster season in 2013 due to injury, but was selected to the Pro Bowl every year from 2006 until 2012. Will he be able to make the Pro Bowl again, and be a star with the Broncos?

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  • Julius Peppers Released From Chicago Bears In Salary Cap Move

    The veteran defensive player Julius Peppers has been released from the roster of the Chicago Bears. As teams start to make way for their new free agents, as the Bears did, some teams will unfortunately be forced to get rid of their veterans.

    Julius Peppers has been in the league for several seasons, and has enjoyed success with the Bears for the past four seasons, but his performance did decline in 2013, and the Bears also struggled for a number of other reasons.

    He has been a great defensive end during his time in the league, but is having to part ways with his team because they are looking for younger talent. The Chicago Bears had just signed free agent defensive end Lamarr Houston, free agent safety Ryan Mundy and incumbent middle linebacker D.J. Williams.

    Despite releasing the veteran for salary cap space, he will surely be missed. Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery spoke highly of the defensive end when saying “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 move to get several new guys has cost them their veteran, but as teams continue to look for younger players that will be able to last longer in the league, it may not be such a bad thing for them. When terminating Julius Peppers’ contract, the Bears were able to save $9.4 million against the 2014 salary cap.

    His contract termination does not come as a surprise to most people as he had a $13.9 million salary, and $20 million cap number. He was eve included in a list of the 24 NFC players who were likely to be cut during the free agency period.

    While the Bears have collected a handful of defensive free agents, they will still need to look for some offense somewhere since they struggled greatly last year, and were not able to make the playoffs, despite an incredibly weak season for the NFC North.

    When Julius Peppers joined the Chicago Bears in 2010, he was given the largest contract that a defensive end had ever received. At 34 years old, Peppers may begin to think about retirement soon, and while he used to be a huge NFL star, he only had 7 sacks in 2013.

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