{"id":95564,"date":"2025-09-01T08:42:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T08:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=95564"},"modified":"2025-09-01T08:42:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T08:42:52","slug":"chiefs-urged-to-pursue-24-million-defensive-back-after-surprise-cut-by-afc-rival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=95564","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs Urged to Pursue $24 Million Defensive Back After Surprise Cut by AFC Rival"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2173406456-e1756674010909.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2173406456-e1756674010909.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2173406456-e1756674010909.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2173406456-e1756674010909.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Chiefs Urged to Pursue $24 Million Defensive Back After Surprise Cut by AFC Rival\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY &#8211; SEPTEMBER 19: Jabrill Peppers #5 of the New England Patriots in action during the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on September 19, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Kansas City Chiefs may need some help in the secondary and are being urged to sign a veteran safety.<\/p>\n<p>Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie is unquestionably among the NFL\u2019s elite. Regardless of where he\u2019s positioned on the field, he presents a matchup you can feel confident about. But after McDuffie, there are a lot of questions.<\/p>\n<p>Before fracturing his ankle in Week 7 last season, cornerback Jaylen Watson played at an All-Pro level. He struggled after returning, making his performance a key factor for the secondary\u2019s success.<\/p>\n<p>The Chiefs added cornerback Kristian Fulton in free agency and parted ways with safety Justin Reid, who signed with the New Orleans Saints.<\/p>\n<p>For the last line of defense, Chamarri Conner seems set to return to his natural position at strong safety, lining up alongside Jaden Hicks. Safety Bryan Cook remains, and general manager Brett Veach also added Mike Edwards to the mix.<\/p>\n<h2>Chiefs Urged to Sign Veteran Safety Released by Patriots<\/h2>\n<p>Lior Lampert of Arrowhead Addict is urging the Chiefs to add some depth to the safety position, suggesting the team sign veteran Jabrill Peppers, who was surprisingly released by the New England Patriots on Aug. 29.<\/p>\n<p>Peppers, 29, still had $4.32 million in guaranteed money left on the three-year, $24 million contract extension he signed last July, according to ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Patriots\u2019 willingness to eat salary to move on from one of their better defenders over the past few campaigns certainly raises eyebrows,\u201d Lampert wrote. \u201cNonetheless, one man\u2019s trash is another\u2019s treasure; the Chiefs must not let this opportunity pass them by.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5476237\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg 4280w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=782,521 782w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=780,520 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=425,283 425w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=254,169 254w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=270,180 270w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=225,150 225w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2187744960.jpg?resize=242,161 242w\" alt=\"Chiefs Urged to Pursue $24 Million Defensive Back After Surprise Cut by AFC Rival\" width=\"782\" height=\"521\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5476237\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5476237\">GettyFOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS \u2013 DECEMBER 01: Jabrill Peppers #5 of the New England Patriots plays during the third quarter of a game against the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium on December 01, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Peppers Was Out with Injuries and Legal Issues<\/h2>\n<p>Peppers, a 2017 first-round pick by the Cleveland Browns out of Michigan, only played in six games last season, dealing with hip, shoulder and hamstring injuries.<\/p>\n<p>But he also spent time on the commissioner\u2019s exempt list after being arrested on initial domestic violence and drug possession charges in Massachusetts. He was later charged with assault and battery with dangerous weapon, and assault and batter and strangulation charges. The unidentified woman also filed a $9.5 million lawsuit against Peppers.<\/p>\n<p>The woman testified during the criminal trial that Peppers grabbed her by the neck, slammed her against the wall and pushed her down the stairs after another man called her cell phone several times while they were in bed. Peppers denied the allegations, testifying to so during his trial. He was acquitted by a jury of his peers in January.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI usually say, \u2018My client was found not guilty,&#8217;\u201d Marc Brofsky, Peppers\u2019 attorney, said after the not guilty verdict. \u201cBut in this case I will say, \u2018He was found innocent,\u2019 given the state of the evidence, given how quickly the jury returned their verdict. They knew it was a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Peppers was removed from the commissioner\u2019s exempt list in November 2024 following an initial investigation by the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>When Peppers did play for New England last season, his production was good. Pro Football Focus, ranked him 7th among 171 qualifying safeties.<\/p>\n<p>Drake Bentley is an award-winning investigative journalist and breaking news reporter for Heavy, covering the NFL, NBA, legal affairs, and entertainment. He\u2019s covered the NBA Finals, NFL Draft, and major trending stories since 2019. More about Drake Bentley<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Chiefs<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kansas City Chiefs are being urged to sign veteran safety Jabrill Peppers, who was surprisingly released by the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":95565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chiefs Urged to Pursue $24 Million Defensive Back After Surprise Cut by AFC Rival - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=95564\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chiefs Urged to Pursue $24 Million Defensive Back After Surprise Cut by AFC Rival - 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