In a massive surprise nine days ahead of the season opener, the New England Patriots are releasing safety Jabrill Peppers, a stalwart of their defense, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
It’s unclear why coach Mike Vrabel is making the move so close to the season, especially since Peppers, 29, has been good for the Patriots in recent seasons and was a vocal supporter of Vrabel’s changes.
The Patriots are releasing Jabrill Peppers, source confirms. The veteran safety spent the past three seasons in New England.
First: @AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/Ml9AnZJBq0
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) August 29, 2025
It appears now that the Patriots plan to roll into the season with a relatively inexperienced back end of the secondary with Jaylinn Hawkins, who has started 13 games over the last four years, next to rookie Craig Woodson.
The move is also curious because it doesn’t save the Patriots much cap space, considering they already have the most in the NFL, and Peppers had more than $4 million guaranteed this season.
It marks yet another poor contract given out by Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo last offseason. They gave Peppers a three-year extension just 13 months ago. Now he’s on his way out the door.
Peppers was named a captain at the outset of last season, but he landed on the commissioner’s exempt list after he was charged with assault and battery stemming from an October 2024 incident. Peppers returned to the field after missing seven games and was later acquitted of all charges.
The move is the latest in Vrabel’s overhaul of the roster he inherited. In 2024, the Patriots had six captains: Peppers, David Andrews, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jacoby Brissett, Joe Cardona and Deatrich Wise Jr. One year later, none of them remain with the team.
Throughout the summer, it appeared that a veteran safety might be cut by the new regime. But it wasn’t Peppers. It was Kyle Dugger, who was demoted to the scout team defense and played at the end of the team’s three preseason games.
But with a little more than a week until the Sept. 7 opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, Dugger remains on the Patriots while Peppers is gone.
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
