On Tuesday morning, insider Ian Rapoport reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers were signing S Jabrill Peppers. Peppers is entering his ninth year in the NFL and will be turning 30 years old in October. The New England Patriots cut him at the end of August, allowing the Steelers to sign him as a free agent.
Head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that the Steelers are signing Peppers during his Tuesday press conference, per video from the Steelers’ YouTube channel. He did not share whether the team signed Peppers to the practice squad or the active roster at that time. Tomlin also took the time to provide his thoughts on the versatile defensive back.
“Highly familiar with him, not only from his time as a Cleveland Brown, but scouted him heavily when he came out of Michigan,” Tomlin said. “He’s a football player first, positional player second. He’s displayed position flexibility over the course of his career at either safety position and run-down nickel. He’s been a capable guy in the special teams space over the course of his career, covering kicks, returning punts. He’s just a good, well-rounded football player. Glad to add and have him in the fold.”
Jabrill Peppers spent the first two years of his career in the AFC North with the Browns. They drafted him 25th overall after a stellar career with the Michigan Wolverines. Tomlin also mentioned that how Michigan used Peppers in so many different ways stuck with him since the scouting process in 2017.
Since entering the league, Peppers has 511 total tackles, 30 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, seven interceptions and 35 pass breakups in 99 regular-season games.
And as Tomlin said, Peppers also has experience returning punts. He returned 87 punts for 719 yards, an average of 8.3 yards per return. He also returned 34 kicks for 749 yards, an average of 22 yards per return.
The Steelers certainly valued positional versatility this offseason. That was a big selling point for DB Jalen Ramsey with the ability to play outside and slot corner, along with safety. We even saw that on the offensive side of the ball with TE Jonnu Smith. Peppers fits the mold of a versatile player who can fit in different spots where needed. And he brings experience to the special teams unit, both in terms of coverage and return ability.
That special teams coverage ability could be a big deal for the Steelers. The Steelers allowed 29.4 yards per kick return against the New York Jets on Sunday. If it wasn’t for RB Kenneth Gainwell’s forced fumble, the numbers could have been even worse.
The Steelers have to get better on both kickoff coverage and on defense. With S DeShon Elliott out for some time, there will be an avenue to potential playing time there for Jabrill Peppers. And there will certainly be room on the coverage units, as well.
According to Tomlin, he’s had his eye on Jabrill Peppers ever since his career at Michigan. Now he’s got a chance to coach Peppers, and it sounds like he’s excited to have another versatile player in his arsenal.
