The New England Patriots’ quest of locking up their cornerstone players continued on Friday. Starting safety Jabrill Peppers, who is coming off arguably his best season as a pro, was signed to a new three-year extension at a base value of $24 million.
The new deal will prevent Peppers from entering free agency next March, and allow him to continue to play alongside fellow safety Kyle Dugger for the foreseeable future. For head coach Jerod Mayo, it also rewards a player who has proven himself worthy of an investment.
“He really embodies everything that we want on the field,” Mayo told reporters shortly after news of the extension initially broke. “He’s very selfless. He’s out there flying around all the time. And it’s good to get that deal done.”
A former first-round draft pick, Peppers joined the Patriots as a free agent in 2022. While still recovering from a torn ACL at the time of his arrival, he quickly integrated himself into New England’s secondary and served as a rotational No. 3 option at the safety position alongside Dugger and Devin McCourty.
After McCourty’s retirement in 2023, Peppers signed a new two-year contract to stay put. He and Dugger subsequently took on more prominent roles on the defensive side of the ball as well. The former Brown and Giant responded well to his increased workload, setting himself up for a new contract.
His performance on the field was a deciding factor in that, but so was his leadership off of it. One of the more outspoken players on defense, Peppers has become a tone-setter for the secondary and entire team alike.
“I have to be honest, when he first got here it was a little bit much for me,” Mayo said about Peppers’ high levels of energy. “But I do appreciate it. He brings that passion. He brings that energy each and every day. He’s one of our best communicators on defense along with Dug.”
With Peppers now signed to a new deal, the Patriots have brought some long-term stability to their safety room. For Mayo, that is a clear positive.
“I feel very good about that safety room as a whole,” he said.
“When I look at our safety room, I see a room that is full of playmakers. There are some similarities as far as skillset, but also things that each one does just a little bit better than the other. We always talk about versatility and being able to move to different spots, whether it’s strong safety or free safety, whatever you want to call it. I think that entire room can do pretty much both of those.”
2024-07-26T17:39:08Z dg43tfdfdgfd