Why Patriots cut Jabril Peppers, letting Steelers get a surprise starter

Billy Heyen

Why Patriots cut Jabril Peppers, letting Steelers get a surprise starter image

Jabril Peppers didn't play a defensive snap in Week 2.

But in Week 3, revenge game, Peppers started.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are counting on Peppers to hold down a safety spot in a matchup against his most recent team, the New England Patriots.

And it was a fascinating way to get here.

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Why did the Patriots cut Jabril Peppers, leading to Steelers signing?

The Patriots cut Peppers before the season when they cutdown to their 53-man roster.

It was a surprise at the time.

It felt like a culture-setting move by new head coach Mike Vrabel, who essentially went fully new at safety by also demoting Kyle Dugger down the New England depth chart.

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Peppers didn't have a team in Week 1, but the Steelers lost DeShon Elliot to injury in their opener.

That had them looking for a safety, and Peppers was available. 

He's not the player he was once hoped to be as a highly hyped player out of Michigan, but he's still a playmaker, and Pittsburgh is counting on him.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle