Patriots Analysis
Patriots 90-Man Roster Spotlight: Jabrill Peppers
The New England Patriots can have up to 90 players under contract during the offseason. Patriots Football Now will profile all 90 players (though there are currently 91 on the roster) over the upcoming months. Today’s featured player is safety Jabrill Peppers.
Jabrill Peppers
The Cleveland Browns selected Jabrill Peppers in the first round (No. 25 overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. Peppers had a solid start to this NFL career in Cleveland. After two seasons with the Browns, he was dealt as part of a package to the New York Giants for Odell Beckham Jr. Peppers played three seasons in New York. He set personal bests in 2020 with 91 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Unfortunately, his 2021 season was cut short. Peppers was placed on IR after six games. He ruptured his right ACL.
New England signed Peppers to a one-year deal in 2022. He played in all 17 games for New England, proving he was fully healthy once again.
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Last season, Jabrill Peppers shined on an excellent defensive unit in New England. He also became a fan favorite, winning the 2023 Vince Wilfork Award. Not only did Peppers excel on the field, he became a leader in the locker room. He also provided some high-impact, including one that led to a Jahlani Tavi interception against the Raiders.
Jabrill Peppers and Jahlani Tavai team up for a crazy INT 😱
📺: #NEvsLV on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/B4mQvLOt8O pic.twitter.com/vHQjDgCxEv— NFL (@NFL) October 15, 2023
Jabrill Peppers finished fourth on the Patriots in tackles. He tied for the team lead in interceptions.
Pro Football Focus viewed Pepper’s performance extremely well in 2023. His final grade for the year was 87.3, the best of his career. He earned the fifth-highest grade of any NFL safety.
Contract Status
Jabrill Peppers enters the final year of his contract with New England this season. He will count $6.47 million against the salary cap. Peppers is one of many Patriots players set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
Safeties Group
The New England Patriots have six safeties on their 90-man offseason roster. Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger are returning starters for the unit. Marte Mapu, Jaylinn Hawkins, Joshuah Bledsoe, and Dell Pettus round out the unit.
Outlook for Jabrill Peppers
Peppers took on a leadership role in New England last season. He is a vocal leader. Peppers played a career-high 955 defensive snaps in 2023. It marked a significant increase from his 2022 total (399), despite Peppers playing two fewer games.
Not many players are locked into roster spots or starting roles on the 2024 Patriots. Dugger and Peppers account for two of them. The safety unit was solid last season. Dugger was rewarded with a handsome contract in the offseason, touted as a core player the Patriots hoped to build around. Peppers appeared to have even better production last season. Will New England reward him for his efforts before he hits free agency in 2025?
Jabrill Peppers has proven his worth to the New England Patriots over his first two seasons in Foxboro. There are still a few questions remaining for the 28-year-old. Can he repeat his exceptional 2023 campaign? Will he be named a team captain in 2024? And will the Patriots extend him before he hits free agency in 2025? Those answers will be known before long.