Julius Peppers signs with Packers

Julius Peppers has agreed to a three-year contract with the Green Bay Packers. The deal, which was first reported by ESPN’s Josina Anderson, is reportedly worth a maximum of $30 million. Peppers will make $8.5 million next season.

Peppers, who was released by the Chicago Bears last week, declined a bit last season with just seven sacks. Still, he remains one of the better pass rushers in the league at age 34. Playing alongside Clay Matthews will also help, as defenses won’t be able to focus solely on Peppers when it comes to stopping the pass rush.

Green Bay also re-signed BJ Raji to a one-year contract on Thursday after he was unable to drum up any significant interest on the free agent market. The Packers have ultimately kept their defense intact, so the addition of Peppers should help.

At age 34, Peppers can still be a valuable piece of the puzzle without putting up the same sack numbers he did earlier in his career. That said, I’m not convinced he’s worth the type of money the Packers gave him.