On Wednesday morning, the NFL league office announced that Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers was being added to the Commissioner Exempt List.
Peppers was added to the list after the 29-year-old team captain was arrested on Saturday morning. He was charged with assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and possession of a Class "B" substance. According to police, the substance was believed to be cocaine.
Peppers appeared for his arraignment on Monday at Quincy District Court, and pleaded “not guilty” on all charges. Peppers' next court date is scheduled for November 22.
When a player is added to the Commissioner Exempt List, that player is put on paid leave and prohibits them from playing in games or participating in practice. Commissioner Roger Goodell is the only person who can trigger an addition to this list, and is typically only used when a player is dealing with a legal matter that has yet to yield an outcome in the courts.
While on the list, the player can still access team facilities. With that said, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told the media on Wednesday morning that “in the near-term,” Peppers will not be in the building and away from the team.
“I just want to be clear that really any act of domestic violence is unacceptable for us,” said Mayo. “As a team - whether 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. You know, with that being said, I do think that, you know, Jabrill has to go through the system, has to continue to go through 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. At this time he is not in the building, and we’ll talk about that at a later time.”
Before moving on to questions about his change at quarterback, Mayo added, “As a father of three daughters, I definitely understand the seriousness of the allegations, and hopefully they’re not true.”