First round Picks for Peppers or Gross

we most likely won't lose Gross. We wouldn't lose Peppers if there were a way of him wanting to be here.

 

question-if peppers and/or gross walk do we get 1st round compensatory picks next year since they were both originally 1st round picks and left via free agency?

 

Nope.

 

we would get compensatory picks (which vary in value and only go up to the end of the 3rd) if we have a net loss in free agency (which generally means we'd be cutting less of our own guys, so we'd have less to replace) and the value of the player is high. I've never seen more than one 3rd round pick awarded in a year, I don't believe. At best, we might get a 3rd and 5th if we just let both walk. Of course, losing either of them to any sort of metered FA (franchise, transition, or trade from either) doesn't count against compensatory picks.

I think the chance of us losing both is small. I think ideally we'd want to keep either, even if it meant having very limited means to otherwise improve.

I have to believe that a part of the team structure is considering whether it'd still be lucrative to franchise Peppers for playing one year, even with potential bridges burned, but that most of the franchise would believe it's better to get a draft pick and move on. This is, of course, my speculation and nothing I've heard, but I could see there being some lobbying for him to play on the franchise number for a year even without guarantees to his allegiances.

 

We have a new DC so if we tagged Peppers and kept him for a year he might have a change of heart before the year is out. Meeks is considered a player friendly guy from what I heard.