Packers veteran OLB Julius Peppers was noncommittal about playing beyond this season on Monday.
“I’m not saying that I don’t want to play next year. I’m not saying that I do,” Peppers said, per Jason Wilde. “I’m just saying that right now I don’t know.”
“I want to play as long as I can,” Peppers added, per Rob Demovsky. “If I can play next year, then maybe, but we’ll see about that later.”
The Packers will have a number of notable players to address after this year, so it’s possible they could move on from Peppers and look to get younger at outside linebacker. However, Peppers has proven to still be a valuable contributor, even in a reduced role for them this year and he brings a veteran presence to a young defensive group.
Peppers, 36, is a former first-round pick of the Panthers back in 2002. He’s currently in the final year of his three-year, $26 million contract and stands to make a base salary of $7 million for the 2016 season before testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent next year.
In 2016, Peppers has appeared in 12 games for the Packers and has recorded 17 tackles, 6.5 sacks, a forced fumble and three pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 26 edge rusher out of 111 qualifying players.
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