Julius Peppers is retiring from football after 17 years in the NFL.

He doesn’t really need an introduction here. Between his years at UNC and his two stints with the Panthers Youth Trai Turner Jersey , Peppers has been a sports legend in the Carolinas for longer than a lot of Panthers fans have been alive.He’s a modest man in spite of his unparalleled talent. His career was the length of two for a lot of people, but it was closer to five for the average NFL player. That length is unimaginable for his position. There are a small handful of active players who are on pace to pass Peppers’ place (fourth) on the all-time sacks list. They are headlined by the likes of Von Miller, JJ Watt, and Cameron Wake. Everyone of them is a star, but it would be foolish to bet on any of them having a 17-year career. We, as Panthers fans, have been lucky enough to watch the career of one of the absolute best to ever play this game. He played it among peers that, on their good days, could look almost as talented. We’ll be lucky to see his combination of dedication http://www.authenticscarolinapanthers.com/cheap-mario-addison-jersey , humility, and superiority again. Peppers is family to the Carolinas. He grew up here and he played here. He didn’t just entertain us, he took care of us. His hurricane relief fund is one of the most public and straightforward initiatives started by a Panther to help this region in its time of need. He didn’t need to rehabilitate his image, he just did what you do for family.Both the Players Tribune article, penned by Peppers, linked above and the Panthers.com piece here have video tributes to and from him. I dare you to watch them without a tissue at hand.The Carolina Panthers have been gifted with a number of leaders in their short history who have left indelible marks on the franchise and the region. The fire of Sam Mills and the resilience of Thomas Davis spring immediately to mind. Peppers may have been quieter in his approach to the game, at least publicly, but his mark will be no less important. The Panthers are a lesser team without him, but they will always be greater for having been a part of his career. I spoke with Dave Halperin of Blogging the Boys about the new-look 2018 Cowboys. He had a lot to say about the optimism in a post-Dez Bryant world Color Rush Torrey Smith Jersey , Dak Prescott’s 3rd year, and more. Read on for an inside look at the Panthers week 1 opponent.Cat Scratch Reader: Y’all lost Jason Witten and Dez Bryant this off season. How are the Cowboys going to replace them?Blogging the Boys: Rather than just trying to replace them, the Cowboys are altering their offense somewhat and they are looking at doing things more by committee. Witten and Bryant were certainly the focal point of the offense, but over the last few years their production had started to slip. Bryant’s particular set of skills didn’t seem to match up well with Dak Prescott, so the Cowboys want to go with more precise route-runners. They want to spread the ball around more and move their receivers around more instead of the stable sets they’ve been running for years. So the hope is it will be a community effort in replacing the production of Bryant and Witten.CSR: It feels like you guys have struggled to field a consistent secondary since busting on the selection of Morris Claiborne in the 2012 draft. What are your expectations this year?BTB: The Cowboys secondary is young but has a lot of potential. Dallas brought in Kris Richard who helped create the Legion of Boom in Seattle, he is an aggressive coordinator and the Cowboys want more production from their secondary in the form of turnovers. They have moved Byron Jones from safety to cornerback and he seems to be thriving in the preseason. The cornerbacks with Jones and second-year player Chidobe Awuzie seem pretty solid. At safety they are a little thin, and projected free safety starter Xavier Woods almost certainly won’t be participating in the game. The Cowboys secondary is definitely young, but they have athletes there and they should be better than in past years.CSR: The Panthers offensive line has been one of the most injured units I’ve seen in football and they haven’t played the first game yet. How healthy is the Cowboy’s front 7 and should the Panthers be afraid of them?BTB: The Cowboys front seven on defense could be one of the most improved parts of the team. DeMarcus Lawrence had his breakout season last year, and Randy Gregory is now back and played well in the preseason. They are the bookend defensive ends Color Rush Greg Van Roten Jersey , and last year’s first-round pick Taco Charlton has shown great improvement in training camp and in preseason. Sean Lee is a stud at linebacker, and Jaylon Smith has looked fully recovered from his college injury and could form a formidable duo with Lee. The defensive tackles are little shaky with David Irving suspended, but overall this unit has talent and depth. Hopefully this year’s first-round pick, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, will get healthy and be able to contribute. CSR: Dak Prescott came back to Earth a little last season after his impressive rookie campaign. What should we expect from him as he starts year 3?BTB: Last year’s issues were as much about the player’s around him that were missing as they were with Prescott himself. Halfway through the season, Prescott was having an excellent year, close to the same as he had in 2016. Then Tyron Smith got injured and Ezekiel Elliot was suspended and things started to fall apart. The Cowboys backups for Smith were awful and Prescott took a lot of sacks and pressures. Then not having Zeke also hurt the offense, and Prescott’s play fell off. I would expect that he will look more like the guy that played in 2016 and through the first eight games of 2017, than the guy who finished the season.CSR: What player has been a total surprise this offseason and is now in line to see substantial playing time.BTB: Defensive tackle Antwaun Woods. We signed him late in the free agency period and no one really expected much. But he has played really well in training camp and in the preseason names and his stock has shot up. He should find himself with some serious playing time. CSR: How healthy are the Cowboys entering the season?BTB: They are relatively healthy. Travis Frederick is the big issue http://www.authenticscarolinapanthers.com/cheap-daryl-williams-jersey , our starting All-Pro center will miss some time after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an auto-immune disease. There is no precise timetable for his return and he will not be playing this week. As mentioned above, starting safety Xavier Woods is injured and likely won’t play. Datone Jones, a member of the defensive tackle rotation will also be out. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins is recovering from a broken foot and we’re not so sure how ready he will be, the same holds for linebacker Leighton Vander Esch who has a groin issue.