S Jabrill Peppers
June 9, 2021
Q. There are a lot of punt returners it seems, Kadarius, they have got Adoree' Jackson, you're obviously in the mix. Is that something you still want to do and is there a lot of competition and how do you see that all shaking out?
JABRIL PEPPERS: It's a lot of competition from every position down the board and competition brings out the best in everybody. You know, I'm willing to do whatever helps the team. Like you said it's definitely going to be competitive. We have a lot of capable guys that can track the ball, have good hands and make guys miss in space. It's definitely going to be interesting to see whoever comes out on top.
Q. You take a full load on defense. Do you still want to do it or would it be a relief not to do it?
JABRIL PEPPERS: I am willing to do whatever to help the team win. That's my main focus.
Q. Going back a couple months, you helped recruit Kenny Golladay. Can you take us through whatever that entailed, went out to dinner or something?
JABRIL PEPPERS: Yeah, I just told him about the culture here, how much he can help us. But I'm in a place to speak for myself, man, there was a lot of guys that pitched in. But I'm thankful he chose to come here to Big Blue along with Adoree' and now trying to do it as a unit and get better.
Q. How did you find yourself in that role? Did Joe ask you to do it? How did that even come about?
JABRIL PEPPERS: Nah, man, like I'm not too far removed from college. I kind of understand the recruiting process. It was something I wanted to do. I believed he could be a big help to our offense, and I was willing to do whatever I can do to sway him our way.
Q. You have a lot of bodies at safety. How is it going to work out when you get on the field?
JABRIL PEPPERS: That's the beauty of Coach Graham, baby. He makes it make sense. I'm a big fan of as many DBs on the field as we can, but you know, certain situations don't allow that. Not too worried about it. But like I said, there's competition at every spot but PG definitely knows how to get the best out of his guys and put them in position to excel, so I'm excited.
Q. Was Graham's (Gano) asking price too high for that No. 5?
JABRIL PEPPERS: Yeah, yeah, way too high.
Q. Is there still time to negotiate that or no?
JABRIL PEPPERS: I tried but he's not budging. You know, I'm thinking about hanging it up. I still probably got a month to try to see what I can do, try to swing him my way. But at the moment, it's not looking too good.
Q. Along the lines of the depth on the back end, do you guys sit around and talk and think about what you're going to cook up and what kind of advantages you can have?
JABRIL PEPPERS: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, guys that can play multiple positions and remain on the field and -- opposing offenses and get a beat on what we are doing, what one guy's job is, be multifaceted. It's just about building on what we are establishing right now, feeling the guys out, working together, doing what we're supposed to do when we're supposed to do it.
Q. You mentioned Adoree'. You had a relationship in college. Could you talk about that?
JABRIL PEPPERS: Me and Adoree' go back to high school. We played at the same All-American game, he was a guy in college who played roles on offense and defense and was a return man who could do some things with the ball and so was I. We always kept in contact. We tried to get together to go to the same college, but he wanted to stay more West Coast. I wasn't really trying to go out there. But you know, it's crazy how it all comes to fruition. Now we are on the same defense and we just build on that continuity. It's definitely dope.
Q. This week was the last week you had to get a shot for the vaccine to be ready for camp if you wanted to be free of all protocols. I saw you posted that you got your first shot. I know it's a personal choice, but curious from a player's perspective what the decision was like in going about getting it and deciding on how it would affect your daily life in the league in the 2021 season.
JABRIL PEPPERS: Well, it's just something I wanted to do. I'm not really thinking about that way. It was something I wanted to do.
Q. To bring it back to Pat Graham, now that you had that full season with Pat, is there more comfortability?
JABRIL PEPPERS: Absolutely. It's like night and day, man. It's just being familiarized with the whole defense conceptually, helps you play fast and helps you understand the game a lot better and what and how he's calling the game, man. This like my second time playing for a coordinator for a second straight year. I'm excited that I get to be in a familiar defense and just trust my instinct and go out there and make plays.
Q. How happy were you when you found out he was coming back?
JABRIL PEPPERS: He's a hell of a coach, man, everybody has to do what's best for him and I'm happy we got him back. We're not done yet. I don't think we touched the tip of the iceberg.
