Patriots Should Revoke Captains Title From Jabrill Peppers After Legal Run-In

The New England Patriots, tied for the worst record in the NFL, stooped to an even greater low before the team took the field and endured a fourth consecutive loss, to the injury-riddled Miami Dolphins in Week 5 in what’s consistently been the ugliest season in recent memory for the once-lead-by-example franchise.

Jabrill Peppers, an emerging leader and star safety voted a team captain, was arrested Saturday — 24 hours before Week 5 kick-off at Gillette Stadium — on charges of assault and battery, assault and battery on an intimate partner, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation and possession of a Class B drug believed to be booger sugar. Police were called to his Braintree, Massachusetts home after a disturbance erupted between Peppers and the woman. Peppers pleaded not guilty on Monday when arraigned in Quincy District Court, adding the cherry on top of the worst weekend, so far, of what’s been a long nightmarish season.

If anything can and should be maintained in Foxboro, it’s the “Patriot Way.”

Sure, Bill Belichick is long gone — seemingly with New England’s winning ways — but that doesn’t mean the imprint left in what helped form the organization’s identity should too be shown the door. New England prided itself in doing everything by the book, even while enduring the public scrutiny of its “Spygate” scandal in 2007 and “Deflategate” controversy in 2015. Players were held to a high level of conduct, regardless of stardom status. Josh Gordon was an avid cannabis consumer while in New England (twice), and the Patriots didn’t stand for it. Antonio Brown, after a masterful Week 1 debut with the Patriots in 2019, was immediately released after multiple accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior surfaced.

Peppers, although unfamiliar with off-the-field troubles, still has a responsibility as a team captain. Signed to a three-year, $24 million deal in July, the 29-year-old needs to lead the locker room by example, especially under New England’s current state — amid a rebuild, showcasing youngsters and figuring out which pieces are the future cornerstones that’ll guide the next great chapter of Patriots football.

“We are aware of an incident involving Jabrill Peppers over the weekend in which the police are currently investigating. We will have no further comment at this time,” a statement from the Patriots read on the pending matter.

New England doesn’t have an answer for its offensive line, offensive playbook, quarterback situation or direction for treating what’s been a non-competitive five weeks of football, but the answer to disciplining Peppers is rooted in its history. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo needs to take a page from Belichick and treat this as his first major test as an authority figure to set a precedent for how a Mayo-led system will operate. It’s clear the team is heading toward lost cause territory real soon, but that’s no reason to let loose on what owner Robert Kraft wants New England’s culture to become under Mayo.

Making an example of how Peppers handled himself if anything, will do right by what the Patriots are striving to build in Foxboro. The Tom Brady culture has been gone for nearly half a decade and the rebound has been unbearable to watch, this season more than any other thus far.

“What I said in the courtroom I’ll repeat. We have evidence that completely contradicts the alleged victim’s story. I expect my client to be fully exonerated,” Marc Brofsky, Peppers’ attorney, told reporters, per CBS News.

Peppers has since posted $2,500 bail and has been ordered to stay away from the woman.