Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers placed on commissioner's exempt list by NFL

BOSTON — The NFL placed New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers on the commissioner’s exempt list Wednesday morning.

Peppers was arrested Saturday morning in Braintree, Mass., and faces charges of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and possession of a class “B” substance.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said Wednesday that Peppers will not be in the facility in the “near term.”

“I just want to be clear that really any act of domestic violence is unacceptable for us. As a team, no matter if you’re a player, staff member, we’re wholeheartedly against any type of domestic violence. I know the organization’s position, which I fully support. With that being said, I do think that Jabrill has to go through the system, has to continue to go through a due process, and we’ll see how that works out. What I will say is that the league has put him on the exempt list, and that will give us time to really gather more information going forward.”

Peppers may not practice or attend games while on the list. He will be paid and is allowed to attend meetings and workouts and receive treatment at Gillette Stadium while exempt, which is “a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances.” The starting safety was dealing with a shoulder injury before his arrest. He was ruled out of the Patriots’ Week 5 loss on Sunday after informing the team of his arrest.

“As a father of three daughters, I definitely understand the seriousness of the allegations, and hopefully, they’re not true,” Mayo said.

Braintree police arrived at a residential address around 4:15 a.m. Saturday after receiving a disturbance call that described an altercation between two people. Following an investigation, Peppers was arrested, and police say “the victim was treated by E.M.S. at the scene.” The substance in question was discovered in Peppers’ wallet and believed to be cocaine, according to authorities.

Peppers pleaded not guilty during his arraignment at Quincy District Court on Monday morning. He was ordered to stay away from the alleged female victim, who said Peppers “hit her, choked her, took off her clothing and put her outside,” according to the police report. She also claimed Peppers grabbed her by the neck and smashed her head against the wall before allegedly throwing her down the stairs of his apartment.

Peppers claimed he asked the woman to leave several times and denied putting his hands on her. He said she fell down the stairs by herself because she was “intoxicated.” He told police the woman made these allegations to destroy his career.

Peppers and the alleged female victim gave differing accounts of how the incident began. His case has been continued to Nov. 22, with his appearance waived. If Peppers is arrested again, the judge warned, he can be “held.”

His attorney told reporters after the arraignment that they possess evidence, including video, they believe will ultimately exonerate Peppers.

The Patriots were without Peppers and their other starting safety, Kyle Dugger (shoulder), in Sunday’s 15-10 loss to the Dolphins. Marte Mapu, Jaylinn Hawkins and Dell Pettus started in their place.

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