Remember that Julius Peppers-to-the-Patriots report that got everyone’s panties in a bunch last month?

It’s about to come due.

And the guy who broke it apparently isn’t backing down.

Vic Carucci on NFL.com wrote on March 16 that Patriots and Panthers were “hoping to complete the deal at some point between the owners meetings March 22-25 and the NFL draft on April 25.” Unless my calendar is all screwed up, the draft is on Saturday. In other words — tick, tock.

Remember, Carucci is probably the last guy in the national media to throw a piece of crud against the wall to see if it sticks. He got it from somewhere. And he was back at it again late last week, writing that, “according to multiple NFL sources, the Patriots remain very much interested’’ in acquiring the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end, who projects as an outside linebacker in the Pats’ 3-4 system.

Carucci added what Belichick essentially told “The Big Show” last month: The Pats prefer that Peppers sign his franchise tender, allowing the Pats to deal directly with the Panthers and not his agent. Peppers must sign his massive $16.7 tender before any trade can be consummated.

So that will be the first shoe to drop in any deal involving Peppers. If you see Peppers sign the tag this week, you’ll know something is up, whether it be with the Patriots or someone else.

And from where I stand, “somewhere else” seems like a far more likely scenario. From a money standpoint, it’s hard to see how Peppers fits in here. The salary cap is one thing. The Pats are currently around $4 million under the limit. There are a zillion loopholes in the cap, and the Pats have used most of them in the past. But squeezing Peppers in under their limit when he’s expecting at least $17 million in new money this year seems a stretch even for them. But it could happen, I guess.

Then there’s the actual money. Peppers, it’s assumed, will want to be one of the highest-paid defensive players in the league, in the neighborhood with what Albert Haynesworth got in Washington ($41 million guaranteed over the first three year). It’s hard to imagine the Pats dishing out that money when Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour are both up at the end of the year and Tom Brady coming due in two years.

Either Peppers is going to have to take much less in New England than he’s being guaranteed in Carolina, or the Pats are going to have to deal off some salary of their own to fit him in. It just seems inconceivable.

But, I repeat: Carucci got it from somewhere.

One thing is for certain, the Panthers need something to happen in the worst way, because Peppers has been the proverbial turd in the toilet bowl clogging up their offseason team-building.

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The Panthers are currently one of only two teams (the Steelers are the other) to not have signed a single free agent from another team. They can’t. No cap room. They are so tight up against the cap that they haven’t even been able to retain their veteran long snapper, Jason Kyle. He’s still waiting for an offer.

The Panthers are also heading into the draft high and dry, with their first selection not coming until the end of the second round (No. 59 overall).

A Peppers trade clears out their cap problem and makes them players in the draft in one fell swoop. And with six picks in the top 97, the Pats certainly have the ammo to get Carolina’s interest. That part makes sense.

Yet there’s been zero movement for over a month. Since signaling their interest in moving on from Carolina and to a team where he could play outside linebacker in a 3-4, Peppers and his agent have gone silent. And in a pre-draft press conference with local reporters last week, Panthers GM Marty Hurney said he expects Peppers to return to Carolina.

“I think he knows how we feel and we feel like he’s been happy here,” said Hurney. “And, again, nothing has changed. We franchised him and when we did we knew there was a period (of time) for the process to take place.

“When that process goes through, then he’s going to be back.”

If you’ve noticed, we’ve said nothing in this article about what Peppers would bring to the Patriots defense. There’s no need. It’s self-evident. He’d be a game-changer. You know that part of the story.

You don’t know whether his landing in New England is a realistic possibility or pure fantasy. That answer should come this week.

We’re rooting for you, Vic.

“The Baseball Show” with Felger, Lou Merloni, Steve Buckley and Sean McAdam premiers Saturday, May 2 at 9 a.m. on Comcast Sportsnet and WEEI. Sports Sunday, with Felger, premieres Sunday, May 3, at 10 p.m. on Comcast Sportsnet. Felger can be reached at mfelger@weei.com.