Alex Barth
March 15th
On Tuesday night, it was reported the Patriots are bringing back safety Jabrill Peppers. The details of that contract are now in.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, it’s a two-year deal worth up to $11 million, with $6 million guaranteed. He’ll have a cap hit of $3.4 million this season and then $5.5 million next season, with a $2.1 million out for the team heading into the second year.
Details on Jabrill Peppers deal:
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) March 15, 2023
* Two years, $4.5M AAV
* $3.1M signing bonus
* $1.08M 2023 base fully guaranteed
* $1.82M of 2024 base fully guaranteed
* Total fully guaranteed: $6M
* $40K per-game roster bonus in '23 & '24
* Up to $1M in playing-time incentives in '23 & '24
This new contract is a noticeable raise for Peppers, who was coming off of a torn ACL last spring and didn’t sign until early April. That first deal with the Patriots was a one-year contract worth $2 million with $1.35 million guaranteed.
Peppers had a slow start to the season – as is often the case with players coming off of an ACL injury, but became a key rotational player for the Patriots’ defense down the stretch. His role expanded and embraced his versatility in the second half of the year when he started seeing more time both as a slot and boundary cornerback, as well as at free safety and even as a blitzer.
Given what the Patriots are paying Peppers this time around, it seems their plan is to grow his role in 2023, which will be his age 28 season. His contract is also now more in-line with the team’s other top rotational safety. His new APY of $4.5 million is just a $50,000 difference from that of Adrian Phillips.
With Devin McCourty retiring, the Patriots safety group and secondary as a whole will certainly look different in 2023. Expect part of the change to be an expanded role for Peppers.
Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.
