FanHouse Jordan Gross

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Carolina left tackle Jordan Gross(notes) broke his right ankle in the Panthers' 28-19 win over Atlanta.

Gross was blocking midway through the second quarter Sunday when a Falcons player fell into his leg, which bent awkwardly. The medical staff put a brace on his leg and ankle before he was carted to the locker room.

Coach John Fox said after the game that doctors told him Gross' ankle was broken, leaving Carolina without the anchor of its offensive line indefinitely.

Travelle Wharton moved from left guard to Gross' spot and Mackenzy Bernadeau replaced Wharton.

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As we have done since the FanHouse began, I'll be taking a look every week at some aspect of line play. You can read more features in the series here. Check back every Thursday for a new Between The Lines.

If you're a reasonably diligent football fan, it's pretty easy to follow which running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers are living up to their reputations -- you just check the stats. It's not as easy, but you can also get a pretty good sense of which pass rushers are having big years, by checking out the sacks.

But when it comes to evaluating offensive linemen, it's a lot tougher to know which blockers are starring and which ones are living off reputation.

After logging 401 sacks this season, it's time to start diving into the numbers to try to get a better sense of who has stood out this year.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

John Fox and Marty Hurney have always done a good job selecting first-round talent. Since Fox took over the coaching reins in 2002, they've picked Julius Peppers, Jordan Gross, Chris Gamble, Thomas Davis, DeAngelo Williams, Jon Beason, Jonathan Stewart and Jeff Otah. So, yeah, not too shabby. This year, the Panthers didn't have a first-round pick, but somehow managed to stumble into first-round talent anyway, landing Everette Brown with the 43rd-overall pick in the draft.

Last offseason, Bills left tackle Jason Peters held out for more dough, the team didn't budge, and he eventually reported to work the day before the season opener.

Not surprisingly, Peters had a tough go of it in 2008. And while the Panthers just rewarded Jordan Gross with a six-year, $60 million deal, Peters is still looking for his big payday. Buffalo is willing to negotiate, but as it stands, the two sides have different notions of fair-market value. And even though Peters has two years left on his existing contract, there's virtually no way he'll play another down in Buffalo without a new deal, at least from the perspective of March.

The Miami Dolphins opted not to use their franchise tag on offensive tackle Vernon Carey, and as it turns out, they didn't need to. The team has signed the 27-year-old offensive tackle to a multi-year contract extension, as reported by Edgar Thompson of the Palm Beach Post.

Terms of the deal have not been disclosed at this point, but with Carey locked up long-term, the Dolphins will have a more-than-formidable duo on their offensive line with he and Jake Long, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

The Carolina Panthers have, according to many "league sources," as well as Peppers' agent Carl Carey, officially designated Julius Peppers with the team's franchise tag.

This, of course, is against Peppers' preference (he's not the only one who hates the franchise tag) and comes as a result of the Panthers inking LT Jordan Gross to a six-year deal. The tagging of Peppers is no surprise whatsoever -- it was well known that the team, regardless of whether he wants to play there or not, intended to get something back if the lifelong Panther actually ended up leaving.

Jordan Gross has officially signed a six-year deal to remain a Carolina Panther, one that will make him not only one of the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL but the highest-paid Panther of all time, according to a statement he made today to the Rock Hill Herald.

Gross seemed relieved that the deal -- which took a year of negotiations to complete -- was finalized, and acknowledged that he probably could have made more on the open market.

Jordan Gross is the biggest cog in the slow-moving wheel that is the Carolina Panthers offseason. If he's not signed by approximately 4:00 PM today, the franchise will, in all likelihood, be forced to use the franchise tag on the lineman.

That would leave Julius Peppers open to waltz his way into free agency. Good news (for the Panthers) has been circulating this morning though, as there are multiple reports surfacing that the Cats and Gross are close to finalizing a monster six-year deal.

The Carolina Panthers are in full pursuit of a contract that would lock up Jordan Gross and give them the ability to franchise Julius Peppers. Peppers knows this -- obviously -- and as a result, it would appear that he's providing his "counter-offer" to the team.

Well, somewhat. What he's really done is state that there are only four teams in the NFL for whom he's willing to play (as a result of a trade). What four teams are they? Excellent question. Seems even Peppers might not know.