Jabrill Peppers Is Very Sorry For Calling His Own Patriots Team 'Ass'
Jabrill Peppers went viral earlier this week for calling his own team "ass" on a hot mic.
The Patriots safety was caught in an NFL Films clip telling New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, "You lucky we ass, bro," after New England's Week 12 loss.
While "ass" is actually a proper assessment for the 2-9 Pats, Peppers is still very sorry he said it out loud.
"I just want to apologize to my teammates and coaches for even having to answer questions about that," Peppers told reporters. "We have more important things to worry about than me being quoted on a hot mic.
"At the end of the day, we're 2-9, we have a top-5 pick in the draft that didn't come via trade and we all know the standard. We all know what it's supposed to look like, and it's not that right now."
In other words, the Patriots are ass. But Peppers' teammates probably didn't appreciate being put on blast.
"It's not no shot at anybody in the locker room," Peppers said. "I said, 'We.' We own that. I own that."
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
A first-round draft pick in 2017, Peppers has played in all 11 games for New England this season. the veteran acknowledged he should have known better.
"I'm a professional, so things like that should never happen," he said. "No need to blame anyone but myself. This is my seventh year in the league. I'm 28 years old. I know better. That was a little frustration.
"I know I'm smiling, but I was very, very angry. That's one that I wanted, but at the end of the day, we're not doing enough to get it done right now."
Jabrill Peppers Lets Out Frustration
Teams and the NFL league office have the opportunity comb through the mic'd up footage before broadcasting to fans. This is to ensure sensitive material (like play calls) and offensive language don't see the light of day.
So the NFL and the Giants kind of did Peppers dirty on this one.
"The guys in here, they know me. I speak my mind. I got caught in the hot mic, and I didn't even give Saquon a chance to tell me . I don't think it was right they put that out, because a lot of things get said on that football field — and I know there are multiple people mic'd up game in and game out that they don't put on.
"I was kind of taken aback by that, but at the end of the day, I own that. I own everything I say and I'm not running from it."
(Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
A thorough apology from Peppers doesn't change the fact that the Patriots are terrible.
New England sits in the bottom half of the league in every offensive statistic, while slightly edging out the Giants for the second-lowest scoring average — putting up 13.5 points per contest.
The Pats will host the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday as they continue to battle for the No. 1 pick.
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