"Throughout his eight years with the Carolina Panthers, Julius Peppers never had much to say.

But Peppers got a couple of things off his chest Wednesday, questioning his former team's handling of his offseason departure and claiming Panthers officials never informed him they would not re-sign him.

Peppers, the Pro Bowl defensive end who signed a six-year, $91.5 million deal with Chicago in March, took the high road for most of a 20-minute conference call with Charlotte-area media while discussing his first game at Bank of America Stadium with a visiting team Sunday.

But near the end of the call, Peppers took a couple of shots at the organization that drafted him with the second overall pick in 2002 after he starred in two sports at North Carolina.

Peppers, who conceded his decision to leave was mutual, said his lone regret was that his time in Charlotte ended a "little sour."

Asked to elaborate, Peppers said he thought the Panthers could have shown him more respect on his way out.

"I don't have a problem with them saying, 'OK, the lockout is coming up. The future of the league is uncertain, and we're going to go in a different direction. We're going to do away with anybody who was making any significant amount of money, and we're going to keep young guys,' " Peppers said. "That's a business decision. I can understand that and respect that. I don't have a problem with that.

"The problem that I had was that they tried to turn the tables to make it look like I wanted out, no matter what. And really, I didn't have the option to stay because it was never offered to stay. So that's the thing when I say it ended a little sour, I felt like it could have been a little more respectful."

Peppers said he exchanged text messages with Panthers coach John Fox, and his agent, Carl Carey, spoke with general manager Marty Hurney. But Peppers said he never spoke directly with Hurney or Fox."