Giants’ Jabrill Peppers mum on whether he wants to stay with team

Jabrill Peppers, in the final year of his contract with the New York Giants and usually mentioned as a candidate to be moved with the trade deadline in less than two weeks, refused to say on Wednesday whether or not he wanted to remain with the team.

Asked directly if he expects to or wants to remain with the Giants past the Nov. 2 trade deadline, Peppers did not answer the question. Or, maybe he did.

“I just want to win, baby,” he said. “I want to make plays, go out there and win ball games.”

That’s a far cry from pledging allegiance to the Giants and saying you want to be part of the solution for a struggling franchise.

Peppers, normally a player who is cooperative with the media, gave a series of terse answers to questions on Wednesday. Some examples:

Q: How did you take (head coach Joe) Judge’s halftime challenge to show more effort?

A: I took it well.

Q: Did you think there was any lack of effort or want to on the field on Sunday?

A: No.

Q: You’re 1-5, four games out of the division lead. It’s not really like last year.

A: Nobody cares about that. We’ve got a job to do. We come out here and do it.

Q: You’ve always been a sparkplug for this team, igniting the enthusiasm out there on the field. When things get tough like this, how do you keep that momentum and positivity?

A: Just remember why you do it.

Q: Are you disgusted right now with where this season is?

A: I’m just motivated to play better and get this thing turned around.

Q: You’re not always this man of so few words. Is there a specific reason for that at the moment?

A: No, not really.

Q: Obviously, you’re not the coach, but what would you say is the mood of the team?

A: Just got to get better.

Q: How does their offense look, though?

A: They’re good.

Granted, there isn’t much to say with the Giants at 1-5 for the fourth time in five years. Still, this was a highly unusual exchange for Peppers.