Julius Peppers is returning to the franchise in which he started his NFL career after the outside linebacker agreed to a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers on Friday.
The news was revealed by Peppers’ agent, Carl Carey, who tweeted a picture of Peppers holding his Panthers’ jersey at the 2002 NFL draft with these words: “Headed Home…”
Contract terms weren’t immediately known.
The 37-year-old Peppers played the first eight seasons of his standout career for Carolina and became one of the bigger stars in franchise history. He was NFC Rookie of the Year in 2002, NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2004 and recorded 81 of his 143.5 career sacks with the Panthers.
Peppers was a five-time Pro Bowl selection for the Panthers. Overall, he is a nine-time Pro Bowler.
Peppers’ sack total ranks fifth in NFL history. He has recorded more than 10 sacks in nine different seasons, and had a career-high 14.5 in 2008 for the Panthers.
He spent the past three seasons with the Green Bay Packers and totaled 25 sacks. Last season, he had 8.5 sacks while no longer being a full-time player.
Peppers played for the Chicago Bears from 2010-13 and had 37.5 sacks. He was released after the 2013 season.
Peppers played in 234 NFL games (227 starts) and has posted 661 tackles, 47 forced fumbles, 18 fumble recoveries and 11 interceptions over 15 seasons.
He was a college football star at North Carolina and also played basketball for the school before embarking on his NFL career.