FOXBOROUGH — In the Patriots locker room following Sunday’s season finale, Jabrill Peppers exited the training room and yelled that he is not a human being.
It was a stark contrast from three weeks prior, when the 28-year-old safety was yelling in pain from the same training room. Peppers suffered a significant hamstring injury against the Kansas City Chiefs, and was told it would be a “three to four week” ailment.
At that time, the Patriots only had three games remaining. In a season going nowhere, Peppers could have easily packed it in and justifiably turned his attention to the offseason. Nobody would have batted an eye given his diagnosis. Instead, he circled the season finale on his calendar, returned to practice a little more than two weeks later — timetable be damned — and was back on the snowy Gillette Stadium turf Sunday afternoon.
BET ANYTHINGGET $250 BONUSESPN BET
21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
“I knew it would probably be hard to make the first two games, but I knew I had a chance to make the last one and I worked like hell to do that: Finish the year off right with my brothers,” Peppers told MassLive after a 17-3 loss to the Jets. “Unfortunately it didn’t roll in our favor, but I was surprised that I was able to come back this fast and feel as good as I did playing out there.”
Peppers had a little extra motivation, too. The safety has finished two season of his seven on injured reserve, and didn’t want to add a third to the list.
“In 2019, transverse process fracture, 2021 tore my ACL. I’m cut from the cloth that if you can play, you can play,” Peppers repeated multiple times.
That approach from Peppers has been a welcome distraction in a 4-13 season.
The safety was back bolting through the New England secondary, only missing one defensive snap all afternoon. Peppers registered a pair of tackles, defended a pass, and also picked up a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness, which he vehemently disagreed with. Peppers was flagged for making contact with Garrett Wilson after an incompletion, but maintained that if he’d been trying to hit the Jets wideout, everyone in the stadium would have known.
“I didn’t have malicious intent behind it. At this point, people know how I hit,” Peppers said. “If I would have hit him, then I would expect the flag, but I was trying to avoid it.”
This season, Peppers played the best football of his career. The Heisman finalist from Michigan has always had a high ceiling, and under Bill Belichick in the Patriots defense, he hit it consistently.
“It’s been amazing. Arguably one of the greatest coaches to ever do it,” Peppers said. “He pushed me in ways that I haven’t been pushed before… I’m just mad that we couldn’t get it done for (the coaches), but it is what it is. We’ve gotta own that.”
In 2024, Peppers, who is under contract for one more year, wants to not only be healthy enough to finish the regular season, but go out on a high note.
Can it happen next season? He didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely,” Peppers said.
- NFL fans can wager online on Massachusetts sports betting with enticing promo codes from top online sportsbooks. Use the FanDuel Massachusetts promo code and the DraftKings Massachusetts promo code for massive new user bonuses.
