What Teams Did Julius Peppers Play For? A Look Back at the Former Panther’s Career

Back in 2002, the Carolina Panthers selected Julius Peppers with the second overall pick of the NFL Draft. He is currently a finalist for the 2024 NFL Hall of Fame class. While Peppers played the majority of his games with the Panthers, it wasn’t his only team. Where else did Peppers play?

How Many Teams Did Julius Peppers Play For?

Scouting college players is not easy. It’s always unfortunate when a top prospect doesn’t work out, but it’s also a whole lot of fun when they do. Peppers is a prime example of the juice being worth the squeeze and then some.

Peppers’ career can be broken up into four stages. The first stage lasted the longest, as Peppers spent the first eight years of his career with the team that drafted him.

During his time in Carolina, Peppers won Defensive Rookie of the Year, made a Super Bowl, made five Pro Bowls, and earned two First-Team All-Pros. He spent the entirety of his 20s with the Panthers, and it’s fair to say his time there was an immense success.

Although Peppers was never able to help the Panthers get back to the Super Bowl after their loss to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in 2004, they did get close again in 2006, losing to the Seattle Seahawks.

With the turn of the decade came the second stage of Peppers’ career. He left Carolina and signed with the Chicago Bears. Although he was 30 years old when he joined the Bears in 2010, his skills had not declined at all.

Peppers spent the next four years of his career in Chicago. During his time there, he made another three Pro Bowls and added another First-Team All-Pro appearance.

After his contract, Peppers opted not to return to Chicago. Although he was 34 years old, he wasn’t quite ready to call it a career. Thus began the third stage of Peppers’ career.

In 2014, Peppers signed with the Green Bay Packers. One may think he was there to be more of a role player, but he was still just too good. In 2015, at 35 years old, Peppers made his ninth and final Pro Bowl.

Peppers spent three years with the Packers. By the time the 2016 season was over, he had seemingly completed a potential Hall of Fame career. However, Peppers wasn’t quite ready to call it quits.

There was still one more stage to Peppers’ career, but it was not exactly with a new team. The final stage consisted of Peppers returning home.

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In 2017, Peppers began the final segment of his career and his second stint with the Panthers. While still quite impactful at the age of 37, he saw a noticeable dropoff in ability at 38. Therefore, following the 2018 season, Peppers’ whopping 17th in the league, he announced his retirement from professional football.

Regardless of whether he makes the Hall of Fame, Peppers will be remembered as one of the greatest defensive ends of all time.

As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, the 2024 NFL Draft is on the horizon. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!