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O
ne of the New England Patriots offseason signings has fit in well with his new team.
New England’s defense and secondary have undergone quite a lot of changes. Arguably the biggest one is the departure of J.C. Jackson.
With that in mind, the Patriots made some moves to strengthen the secondary. One of New England’s biggest offseason signings in this area was bringing in Jabrill Peppers.
2022 is Peppers seventh season in the NFL. Last season, the 26-year-old played for the New York Giants and racked up 29 tackles and a sack per Pro Football Reference.
NESN’s Zack Cox has clearly been impressed with Peppers calling the safety an important part of New England’s defense.
“The 26-year-old practiced sparingly this summer as he worked his way back from a torn ACL, but he’s already demonstrated his value in the opening fortnight of the regular season, bringing versatility and physicality to New England’s defense in his reserve role,” Cox wrote.
So far this season, Peppers has impressed with his versatility, playing all over the field. He has especially stepped up with players such as Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips suffering injuries.
What Do Patriots Coaches Have to Say About Peppers?
Peppers isn’t just gaining praise from pundits and reporters, Patriots coaches have loved what they have seen from the safety.
“He fits in really well,” linebackers coach and defensive play-caller Steve Belichick said Tuesday to media members. “He was coming back from the knee injury, so he was just a little behind those guys getting out on the field. Dugg, AP, Dev — obviously, those guys have played together for a couple years, so he’s integrated really well with those guys. I think those help him just in terms of their experience and kind of helping him get to the right spots.
“But it’s hard to not notice his energy, his excitement, his love for football, how passionate he is out there on the field.”
The linebackers coach also seems to think there is more to come from Peppers.
“I’m really happy to have him on the team and have him out there, and I think it’s only going to get better going forward if he stays on the trajectory he’s been on,” Belichick said. “It’s been really good, and I was happy to see him out there making some plays.”
Patriots Safety Limited at Practice
Dugger suffered a knee injury in the Week 2 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers and didn’t play in the second half. The good news for Patriots fans is that he returned to practice on Wednesday.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss stated that Dugger was noticeably limited on Wednesday.
Dugger is one of the best up-and-coming safeties in the NFL. So far in his career, Dugger has tallied 163 tackles and four interceptions.
While it is a promising sign that Dugger is back in practice, the Patriots are luckily in a good position since they signed Peppers in the offseason. If Dugger is forced to miss some time, they have the necessary reinforcements to survive during his potential absence.