Steelers to sign Jabrill Peppers: Pittsburgh adding veteran former Patriots DB, first round pick
Pittsburgh adds another notable name to its secondary
The Pittsburgh Steelers will add yet another notable player to their roster for the 2025 season. Pittsburgh agreed to terms with veteran safety and former Browns first-round pick Jabrill Peppers, according to NFL Media.
Peppers, 29, was a surprise cut by the Patriots this summer after he failed to make the team's initial 53-man roster. The Steelers, who revamped their secondary this season, suffered an injury at safety this pas Sunday when starting strong safety DeShon Elliott injured his knee during Pittsburgh's Week 1 win over the Jets.
Coach Mike Tomlin said that Elliott will miss Week 2 against the Seahawks and that the Peppers signing was a byproduct of Elliott's injury. Tomlin added that he "hasn't even begun to think about" Elliott being a candidate for short-term IR.
"Highly familiar with [Peppers], not only with his time as a Cleveland Brown but scouted him heavily when he came out of Michigan," Tomlin said. "He's a football player first, positional player second. He's displayed position flexibility over the course of his career at either safety position, at run down, nickel. He's been a capable guy in the special teams space over the course of his career, covering kicks, returning punts. He's just a good, well-rounded football player."
New England released Peppers just one year into a three-year, $24 million extension. Injuries and a league-issued suspension limited him to just six games during his final season in New England.
The 25th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Peppers spent his first two seasons in Cleveland before he was dealt to the Giants during the 2019 offseason. His two most productive NFL seasons were his first two years with the Giants; he forced a career-high three forced fumbles in 2019 and set career-highs with 91 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2020. Peppers was a Heisman Trophy finalist out of Michigan during his stellar college career.
After an injury-plagued final season in New York, Peppers signed a one-year deal with the Patriots ahead of the 2022 season. In 2023, Peppers recorded a career-high two interceptions while tallying 78 tackles, his highest total since 2020.
Peppers now joins a Pittsburgh secondary that also include seven-time Pro Bowler Jalen Ramsey, six-time Pro Bowler Darius Slay, and former second-round pick Joey Porter Jr.
