The New York Giants may end up losing safety Xavier McKinney to free agency next month, so they may need to turn to a cheaper option.
Could they bring back fellow safety Jabrill Peppers for a reunion?
Ryan Bologna of ClutchPoints poses the possibility.
The Giants allowed Peppers to walk via free agency back in 2021, and that was because they had just drafted McKinney the year prior.
Now, the situation has reversed: McKinney may be due for a big payday, so with New York potentially going in a separate direction, Peppers could now be on the club’s radar.
Peppers has spent the last couple of years with the New England Patriots and has been productive. In 2022, he played in every game and registered 60 tackles and a fumble recovery, and this past season, he appeared in 15 contests and totaled 78 tackle, a couple of interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and eight passes defended.
The 28-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Michigan, was originally selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 25th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.
He spent the first two years of his career with the Browns before being traded to the Giants as part of a blockbuster package that sent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to Cleveland.
Peppers resided in New York for three seasons, with his best year coming in 2020 when he racked up 91 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a pick, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 11 passes defended.
The Giants could very well pivot to Peppers if McKinney turns out to be too expensive. Of course, New York could always slap a franchise tag on McKinney, but it would cost the Giants over $16 million, and they probably would not want to invest that much money into a safety for one year given all of the other roster needs they have.
Big Blue went just 6-11 this past season and has made just one playoff appearance since 2017.
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