Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin revealed during his Tuesday press conference that he’s open to playing recently signed safety Jabril Peppers on defense against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Peppers, who was signed last Wednesday, played zero defensive snaps on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Peppers has familiarity with the Patriots has he played three seasons in New England. He was released from the club on Aug. 29.
“I haven’t delved into his specific familiarity with New England,” Tomlin said. ” But certainly, being his second week here, I’m open to expanding the utilization of him, not only as a [special] teamer, but as a defender.”
The Steelers are banged up on defense right now, as Tomlin listed seven starters on the injury report on Tuesday. Strong safety DeShon Elliott (knee) is “questionable at best” to play against New England, according to Tomlin.
Chuck Clark started in place of Elliott on Sunday against Seattle.
Clark replaced Elliott against the New York Jets in Week 1, playing in 32 snaps and finishing the contest with eight tackles and one for a loss on a pivotal third down in the fourth quarter. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said in the week leading up to the Seahawks game that both Clark and Peppers were options to start.
Austin said that he thinks Peppers’ pedigree as a former first-round draft pick and his NFL experience should let him start quickly with a new team — the fourth squad he’s played for in his nine-year NFL career.
“He’s a physical guy, tough, good tackler,” Austin said. “In getting to know him in the last couple of days, our guys think he’s got a good football IQ and sense of what’s going on around. A lot of times it’s just putting it into their own terminology so they can function faster. So we like those things about him and we’ll see how far he takes us this week.”
Both options have plenty of experience. Peppers played in his 100th NFL game on Sunday, and has made 85 starts in his NFL career, while Clark has played in 109 games and has made 76 starts.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Open to Expanding Jabrill Peppers’ Role vs. Patriots
