Although the Steelers just signed Jabrill Peppers, DC Teryl Austin suggested he could play Sunday against the Seahawks. Brought in as a response to DeShon Elliott’s injury, Peppers isn’t here to take over a starting job. The Steelers have Chuck Clark for that, and he filled in after Elliott exited last Sunday’s game.
But he can play both safety and slot, and work the box, as well. A ninth-year NFL veteran, there isn’t much he has seen and done. And having played under Bill Belichick, Peppers surely knows something about defense. It’s no surprise his teammates already see him getting up to speed.
“You’re talking about a nine-year veteran who’s a high-pedigree guy”, Austin said of Peppers, via the Steelers’ media relations department. “He’s physical, tough, a good tackler, and getting to know him in the last couple days, our guys think he’s got a good football IQ in the sense of what’s going on around. A lot of times it’s just putting it into their own terminology so they can function faster. We like those things about him, and we’ll see how far it takes us this week”.
When reporters followed up about whether Peppers could play right away, Austin said, “We’ll see how it goes, and at the end of the week we’ll be able to make a determination on where we are there”.
Jabrill Peppers was the 25th-overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. After playing his first two seasons with the Browns, he spent three years with the Giants. During the previous three seasons, he played in New England, including two under Belichick.
Peppers told reporters Belichick and Mike Tomlin were two coaches he wanted to play for before he retired. He now has that opportunity, though time will tell how long his stay in Pittsburgh proves to be.
Having signed him after Week 1, the Steelers do not owe Jabrill Peppers anything other than what they will pay him on a weekly basis for as long as he is under contract. They could have signed him before Week 1, but they seemingly had no plans to. At least, when asked on Tuesday, Tomlin said it was a direct response to Elliott’s injury.
The Steelers should have Juan Thornhill and Chuck Clark as their starting safeties, but Peppers could also mix in in some capacity. It’s probably not necessary, as this is more a matter of depth, but now they have the option. Even with Elliott and Joey Porter Jr. down last week, Brandin Echols played all of 10 defensive snaps.
You may recall that in 2019, the Steelers acquired Minkah Fitzpatrick on a Tuesday in Week 3, and he started the following Sunday. He recorded two takeaways in that game and earned his first All-Pro honor that season. Jabrill Peppers has played enough football that he should be more than ready to play some snaps if necessary Sunday. Still, I don’t know that I see him having some sort of regular role when everyone is healthy. But that’s a good problem to have.
