Since former New England Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel was hired as the team’s head coach back in January, he has been on a mission to rebuild the once-dominant franchise in his own image. With a few notable exceptions, Vrabel has now cut, traded or at the very least demoted every player associated with legendary head coach Bill Belichick â who led the Patriots to a record six Super Bowl titles.
Belichick’s legacy isn’t the only target. Vrabel has also been purging players associated with Jerod Mayo, who served as head coach for a single season last year.
In fact, with Friday’s surprising release of veteran safety Jabrill Peppers, signed by Belichick as a free agent before the 2022 season, Vrabel has now eliminated all six team captains from 2024 from the current Patriots roster.
Peppers Allegedly Not a ‘Scheme Fit’
Why Peppers was released with just nine days to go before the Patriots opening kickoff of the 2025 season remains unclear. According to a report by Pro Football Talk, “multiple reporters on the New England beat note that Peppers is not thought of as a great scheme fit for the clubâs new defense under head coach Mike Vrabel and coordinator Terrell Williams.”
After the Peppers release was announced by the Patriots on Friday, another of the 2024 captains no longer with the team â linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, who was cut in March after missing 15 games last year with a torn pectoral muscle â stated his feelings about the cut on his X (formerly Twitter) account, in one word.
“Crazy,” Bentley â who has not signed with another team since being released from New England â wrote.
Bentley: ‘Must be a Helluva Scheme’
When a commenter weighed in, asking Bentley if he felt that Peppers was released because he was not a “scheme fit,” Bentley shot back with snark.
“Where great players canât play in it?” he asked, rhetorically. “Must be a helluva scheme.”
Bentley later backtracked slightly, agreeing with another commenter who asserted, “Come on JB you know that scheme fit matters.”
‘Something Else’ to Peppers Release
There may have been other reasons for Peppers’ release, though if so, neither Vrabel nor anyone else in the Patriots organization have said what it might be.
“Iâd think there has to be something else to this story,” wrote Boston-area radio sports talk host Alex Barth. “Peppers looked like a leader for the team throughout the spring and summer, and theyâre thin at safety even with him.”
Barth also theorized that there may have been “bigger questions about his fit in the new system.”
Vrabel: Patriots Can’t Win With ‘Bunch of Good Dudes’
Peppers was suspended last season, missing all but six games as he faced charges for assault and battery related to his October domestic violence arrest. The 29-year-old was acquitted of the charges, though he was also accused of Class B drug possession after a quantity of cocaine was retrieved from Peppers wallet.
Prior to his assault trial, Peppers admitted to the cocaine charge, which was “continued without a finding of guilt.” That means the charge would be dropped as long as Peppers made it through a probationary period without any more legal trouble.
Whether those character issues figured into Peppers release seems unlikely, given that in April, Vrabel made clear his feelings on the balance between personal and performance issues.
“You can’t win and you can’t do what we want to do with just a bunch of good dudes,” Vrabel said at the time. “That’s not going to get it done.”
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