FOXBOROUGH — When the NFL schedule was released last spring, Jabrill Peppers expected to suit up for a Week 3 matchup between the Patriots and Steelers at Gillette Stadium.
The veteran safety had no idea his uniform would be yellow and black though.
Peppers was a shocking cut at the end of August, and fans and media weren’t the only ones caught off guard. On a scale of 1-10, Peppers said his own level of surprise rated pretty highly.
“I would say about an eight,” Peppers said in the Steelers locker room on Sunday afternoon.
The safety isn’t harboring any ill will though. Peppers said hello to Mike Vrabel and plenty of former teammates and coaches ahead of Pittsburgh’s 21-14 victory over the Patriots.
“No hard feelings, baby,” Peppers said. “It’s business.”
He landed with the Steelers and certainly made his impact felt on Sunday afternoon in Foxborough. Peppers finished with six tackles, and forced and recovered an Antonio Gibson fumble in the third quarter.
“I already had a chip on my shoulder just what I’ve been through the last year,” Peppers said. “My little (legal) situation I had, my grand mama passing, that was a tough year for me last year and I just was happy I was able to put everything behind me. I wanted to come into this year just with a new sense of gratitude. A chip on my shoulder. It just added to it. I was grateful Mike (Tomlin) made the call. I’m part of the Steelers now. I’ll do whatever I’ve gotta do to help this team win football games.”
It’s been a whirlwind September for the 29-year-old safety, and now he’s just happy to be back flying around in somebody’s secondary.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” Peppers said. “But I missed this feeling, playing football. All the emotions that go with it. The preparation that goes with it. The competition level. There are not too many feelings like this.”