Patriots’ Jabrill Peppers placed on NFL’s commissioner exempt list due to legal issues
The NFL has put New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers on the commissioner’s exempt list as of Wednesday.
This designation means Peppers, who serves as a team captain, is not allowed to practice or attend games while on this list.
Peppers entered a not guilty plea on Monday in Quincy District Court after facing several charges, including strangulation and drug possession, according to Braintree, Mass. police. Reports suggest that his girlfriend is the alleged victim.
“Let me be clear — any form of domestic violence is intolerable within our team, whether it’s from players or staff,” stated Patriots coach Jerod Mayo on Wednesday. “We stand firmly against any kind of domestic violence. I completely agree with the organization’s stance.”
“However, I believe Jabrill needs to go through the legal process. We will monitor how that unfolds. The league has placed him on the exempt list, which gives us the opportunity to gather more details moving forward. Currently, he is not with the team, and we will address that situation later. As a father of three daughters, I truly recognize the seriousness of these allegations and hope they are unfounded.”
Peppers did not play in the recent 15-10 defeat against the Miami Dolphins, as he had already been ruled out due to a shoulder injury.
Having just celebrated his 29th birthday last Friday, Peppers had participated in all four games prior and recorded 23 tackles, one interception, and defended two passes.
In his eighth season in the league, Peppers has amassed 494 tackles throughout his career, including 28 for a loss, 5.5 sacks, seven interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), five forced fumbles, and seven fumble recoveries in 97 games played (83 as a starter).
Peppers was selected by the Cleveland Browns as the 25th overall pick in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft after coming from the University of Michigan. He has also played for the New York Giants (2019-2021) and the Patriots.
He extended his contract with New England for three years at $24 million on July 26.
