It looks like New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers might be sticking around after all.
The veteran safety was in court this week thanks to the alleged charges of assault and battery against a woman at his Braintree, apartment from last fall. There was a lot riding on this, as the outcome of the case potentially left his football career with the Patriots hanging in the balance.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said following the charges last fall that if they’re true, “he’s gone.” Kraft said at the time that he’d let the investigation and his case play out in court before the team made any hard decisions when it came to Peppers’ future.
However, according to the Associated Press, it took less than 30 minutes for the jury to rule in his favor, acquitting the 29-year-old of the charges.
Peppers testified again on his own behalf on Friday, maintaining his innocence, even telling the court that he followed advice he was given as a rookie when it came to dealing with a woman who was “acting erratic.”
He grabbed his phone, and hit record.
That was the point that he made, and it sounds like it might have contributed to the outcome of his case.
“When I was a rookie in the league, we had a lot of rookie meetings, and one of the meetings was on if a woman, if you find yourself in a situation where a woman is acting, you know, kind of erratic, pull your phone and record because that might be, you know, what saves you,” he said on the stand via WCVB.com.
The jury clearly sat down and weighed the evidence in the case, and Peppers came out on the side he was certainly hoping for.
In the meantime, Peppers will have to stay away from any further trouble as he serves out four months with probation and drug tests for the cocaine charge after he reportedly admitted to being in possession of the narcotic during the trial. The AP reports that charge will reportedly be dismissed if he completes it successfully.
For a team with so many questions heading into the offseason, this is certainly positive news, especially for someone who is considered to be a leader on New England’s defense.
Either way, Peppers with his case finally in the rearview, he’ll now get to turn the page toward getting ready for the 2025 NFL season.
Support Us: Help Us Compete Against The Corporate Media Giants
We need your help. If you enjoy our content, please help us beat Google's Corporate algorithm by adding us as a preferred source on Google News.
Click the button below and check the box next to "PatsFans.com"
Add as a preferred source on Google News
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.
Kick him out!
Good for Peppers. Sounds like he was getting extorted. As for cocaine, if you threw out all the players that used pot, cocaine, steriods etc, there would be a higher percentage of players kicked out than you think. The difference is this guy got caught. Give him credit, he pled guilty and is taking the punishment like a stand up man. . Seems he’s already been punished in missing most of the season. He’s a good player. He brings juice/energy and toughness in hitting similar to what Rodney Harrison did in his day. Not comparing the two, just what they… Read more »