Everything is proceeding as planned in Jabrill Peppers’ recovery from the torn ACL that ended his 2021 season.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday for the first time since he signed with the New England Patriots last month, the versatile safety shared a positive update on his rehab.
“I had a partial tear to my ACL, but the ACL doesn’t regenerate, so they had to go in there and surgically repair it,” Peppers said in a video conference. “But I would say it’s going well. I’m doing a great job listening to the medical professionals. I feel great, haven’t had any setbacks, so hopefully we can keep this thing going.”
Peppers, who spent the last three seasons with the New York Giants, suffered the injury in a Week 7 win over the Carolina Panthers last October. The 26-year-old is expected to be medically cleared in time for training camp, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It’s unclear whether he’ll be able to participate in any portion of New England’s offseason program, which begins next Monday.
A first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2017, Peppers said he was drawn to the Patriots by a desire to play for Bill Belichick and reunite with Joe Judge, his head coach in New York. Judge, formerly a longtime Patriots special teams coordinator, returned to New England as an offensive assistant earlier this offseason.
Peppers joins a deep Patriots safety group led by Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger, all of whom played at least 67% of defensive snaps last season. He also has extensive punt return experience and could replace the departed Gunner Olszewski in that role.
