Patriots Reportedly Sign Safety Jabrill Peppers To Bolster Secondary Depth

The Patriots continued bargain shopping Tuesday, reportedly reaching a deal with a player who could play a variety of roles on both defense and special teams.

New England will sign veteran safety Jabrill Peppers to a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. The news arrived a day after the Patriots hosted Peppers for an in-person workout.

Peppers, 26, played in just six games for the New York Giants last season before suffering a torn ACL in October. He reportedly will be ready for the start of training camp.

Peppers, drafted 25th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, is a versatile defender who can play multiple positions in the secondary. Obviously, that could make him a great fit with Bill Belichick and the Patriots.

Check out Peppers’ snap distribution over the last two seasons:

The Michigan product also is a capable punt returner, something the Patriots need following the departure of Gunner Olszewski. Peppers returned 55 punts over two seasons with the Browns but did fumble seven times. He returned 15 punts for the Giants in 2020 and nine last season.

Peppers played under head coach Joe Judge in his last two seasons with New York. Of course, Judge recently was fired by the Giants before rejoining the Patriots as an offensive assistant.

The sixth-year pro will join a Patriots safety room that already includes Devin McCourty, Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Joshuah Bledsoe and safety/corner hybrid Myles Byant.