Sportsnaut
The New England Patriots made a questionable move on Friday, as the team released safety Jabrill Peppers just a week before the season opener versus the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium.
Peppers started 26 games for the Patriots during his three-year tenure with the team from 2022 to 2024. The 29-year-old was expected to be a starter in the backend for Terrell Williams’ defense in 2025, but New England decided to go in a different direction.
The Patriots’ decision to cut ties with Peppers is surprising, but The Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan also revealed a detail of the veteran safety’s release that is even more strange.
According to Callahan, it doesn’t look like the Patriots shopped Peppers on the trade block before eventually cutting him.
“Checking in with a few teams, I don’t get the sense the Patriots shopped Peppers across the league before his release. Certainly not like they shopped Kyle Dugger.
Peppers would’ve netted New England some value on the open market, as the Michigan product has started 85 games in his career and can still play a pivotal role on any defense. However, general manager Eliot Wolf opted to release Peppers over orchestrating a trade.
It shouldn’t take Peppers to land on his feet and find a new home. The 2017 No.25 overall pick of the Cleveland Browns has immediately become one of the top players on the market and should have multiple teams interested in his services.
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