Patriots’ Insider Elaborates On Decision To Cut Peppers, Trade Rumors

The New England Patriots sent ripples through the fan base on Friday afternoon when they decided to release long time starting safety, Jabrill Peppers, seemingly out of the blue.

The decision came off the tail of teammate Kyle Dugger’s roster spot being questioned, confirming that head coach Mike Vrabel has a very different idea of what the safety room in New England is going to look like going forward.

Now, two days later, the team has still not elaborated on the decision, but insider Mike Reiss told us what he knows.

“The Patriots are prioritizing a different style of play from their safeties than what former coaches Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo valued at that position. That’s the short answer as to why starter-turned-backup Jabrill Peppers was released Friday,” Reiss writes.

Reiss then went on to say that, while it might’ve been a surprise for fans, it was a premeditated move dating back to the first few weeks of training camp.

“One front office source from an NFL team said Peppers’ name had come up in trade discussions earlier in August, so the Patriots’ decision to cut ties with him didn’t come as a surprise to that team,” Reiss continued.

Perhaps the decision was less about Peppers not having a role, and more about how the former captain would react to a diminished presence. The nine year vet is well respected across the league, benching a player like that is sometimes a little tricky.

“Could the Patriots have fit Peppers into their plans in more of a niche role? Absolutely. Would Peppers have been OK with that? That’s less clear at this point,” Reiss concludes.

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