One big question this offseason will be who the club decides to move forward as new head coach Mike Vrabel starts re-shaping the roster, and the New England Patriots have one key situation remaining when it comes to a pretty important player on defense.
According to Mike Reiss, the Patriots may finally get some clarity when it comes to safety Jabrill Peppers, which may be coming this week.
Reiss reported in his Sunday column that Peppers is set to see his jury trial happen this Wednesday, where we’ll potentially learn the future of his legal issues after he was arrested on charges of strangulation and drug possession back in October.
Peppers, who received a contract extension last offseason, had been considered to be one of the key parts of the Patriots defense, which, prior to his troubles when he had played so well, explained why the club made the move to keep him in the fold.
However, team owner Robert Kraft already said back in October during an appearance on 105.1’s The Breakfast Club that “if what is reported is true, he’s gone.” That was certainly an eye-opening statement at the time. Still, Peppers did ultimately come off the commissioner’s exempt list late in the year and played 100%, and 99% of the snaps against both Indianapolis and Arizona late in the season before a hamstring injury ahead of Week 16 saw him sit out the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
The question now will be whether or not his legal troubles could affect his future with a team trying to turn the page after a frustrating year. With Mike Vrabel looking to build a new culture in the locker room, it’s tough to say what that will mean for Peppers, especially given Kraft’s previous comments.
Vrabel told NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran after he was hired, “Whatever they’ve done, whatever they did last year, that was last year,” said Vrabel. “And we’re going to give them an opportunity to prove their value this year to the football team.”
Unfortunately, Peppers situation likely goes a beyond what Vrabel was probably referring to. As a result, it will definitely be something to keep an eye on this week.
(Portions of the above were taken from this morning’s daily Patriots news and notes column.)
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
So the moral to the story is, as long as you play well, you can get away with anything.
…Gougeaway, did you read some other article?