Mike Vrabel spoke to reporters about the New England Patriots releasing Jabrill Peppers.
The Patriots head coach addressed the team’s unexpected decision to part ways with the veteran safety on Monday, per the team transcript.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Jabrill as a person and as a player, and what we felt like was in the best interest of the team at this point was allowing him to have another opportunity elsewhere,” Vrabel said. “There’s a lot of things that go into these decisions. They’re never easy, and we’re just trying to get it right collectively.”
Vrabel said he discussed the move with Patriots players on Monday morning and hoped they would respect the difficult choice. He predicted that Peppers would succeed at his next stop.
“I know Jabrill will do good things in this league and outside the field as well,” he said. “He’s a passionate player and, again, got a lot of respect for him.”
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Reports have cited concerns over how Peppers fit into Vrabel’s scheme as a reason for the release. The safety offered a rebuttal to those claims, noting on social media that he’s played for seven different head coaches and six defensive coordinators over his productive nine-year career.
Vrabel dismissed the notion that New England cut Peppers because of a poor scheme fit.
“That was certainly not the issue,” Vrabel said. “There’s a lot of reasons. I wouldn’t say that’s — we’re going to try to do what’s best for the team. We have a lot of different schemes that we can run in all three phases: special teams, offense and defense. So, there’s a lot that goes into it. … It’s a decision that we had to make.”
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