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Former New York Giants safety Jabrill Peppers is signing with the New England Patriots, per a published report.
Former Giants’ safety Jabrill Peppers reached agreement on a one-year deal with the New England Patriots, per @MikeReiss and me. Peppers tore his ACL last season and is expected to be ready for the start of training camp.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 29, 2022
ESPN NFL insider Field Yates is reporting that the New England Patriots will be hosting former New York Giants safety Jabrill Peppers for a visit on Monday.
The Patriots are hosting former Giants and Browns S Jabrill Peppers on a visit today, per source.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 28, 2022
Peppers played for Joe Judge in 2020-2021, so there’s familiarity already.
The 26-year old brings plenty of defensive versatility, something New England always covets.
The Giants originally acquired Peppers as the “final piece” in a complex 2019 trade with the Cleveland Browns.
Peppers was largely used as a box safety for the Giants, a stark change from the deep middle field safety role he played under Gregg Williams for the Browns. The move closer to the line of scrimmage benefitted Peppers, and he began to realize some of the potential that made him a first-round pick in 2017.
The former 25th overall pick had the best year of his career under Patrick Graham in 2020, when he recorded 91 total tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, 11 passes defensed and an interception. Unfortunately, Peppers struggled to stay healthy with the Giants, with a fractured tailbone limiting him to 11 games in 2019, a pedal ankle sprain forcing him to miss 2 games in 2020, and a torn ACL limiting him to just six games in 2021.
Peppers was voted a team captain on the special teams unit in 2020, and signing with the Patriots would reunite Peppers with Joe Judge.
The big question, at least from the Giants’ perspective, the size of a potential contract. Former Giants departing in free agency haven’t received the kind of big contracts that earn their team significant compensatory picks. The biggest contracts signed have been Evan Engram (one year, $9 million), Austin Johnson (two years, $14 million), Lorenzo Carter (one year, $3.5 million), and Keion Crossen (3 years, $9.5 million).
A good contract for Peppers could help tip the financial scales more heavily in the Giants’ favor in the complicated compensatory pick formula.
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