Jabrill Peppers is the latest recently-released New England Patriots player to find a new home.
The veteran safety, who was surprisingly let go by the Patriots on 53-man roster cutdown day, has agreed to terms with the Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday.
The Patriots face the Steelers at home in Week 3, so Peppers will get the opportunity to exact some revenge on his former club on Sept. 21 at Gillette Stadium.
It sounds like there’s some bad blood between Peppers and New England, too. After Patriots Insider Phil Perry (and others) reported that the Patriots didn’t view Peppers as an ideal scheme fit under new defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, Peppers fired back on social media, writing on X:
“Going on 9 years in this league. I’ve had 7 (head coaches) & 6 (defensive coordinators) lol. There is no scheme you can place me in where I won’t find a way to be effective.”
Now, Peppers gets the opportunity to back up his statement in Pittsburgh, where he’ll join a safety group that includes Juan Thornhill, DeShon Elliott and Miles Killebrew. Elliott is currently day-to-day with a knee injury, which may explain why the Steelers pursued Peppers — that and their defense allowing 31 points on 394 total yards to the New York Jets in a Week 1 win.
Peppers appeared to hint at a development on the free agent front Monday, writing “Crazy how life work” on X.
The Patriots, meanwhile, let Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith rack up 362 passing yards in a Week 1 loss, so their safety duo of Jaylinn Hawkins and rookie Craig Woodson will need to be sharper in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins.