FOXBOROUGH, Mass. –The New England Patriots announced today that they have signed three free agents. Terms of the contracts have not been announced. The Patriots signed the following players: DB Jabrill Peppers as an unrestricted free agent, RB James Robinson as a free agent, and WR JuJu Smith-Schuster as an unrestricted free agent from Kansas City. Peppers originally joined New England as an unrestricted free agent from the New York Giants on April 4, 2022.
Peppers, 27, is a six-year NFL veteran with the Cleveland Browns (2017-18), New York Giants (2019-21) and New England (2022). The 5-foot-11, 215-pound originally entered the NFL as a first-round pick (25th overall) by Cleveland from Michigan in the 2017 NFL Draft. He was traded by Cleveland to the Giants from New York with OL Kevin Zeitler and a first and third draft pick in 2019 in exchange for WR Odell Beckham Jr. and DL Olivier Vernon on March 13, 2019. Peppers has played 78 games with 64 starts and has 380 tackles, 4 ½ sacks , four interceptions including one returned for a touchdown, 25 passes defended, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. Additionally, he returned 83 punts for 693 yards and 34 kicks for 749 yards. Last season, Peppers played in 17 games with five starts and had 52 total tackles with one fumble recovery and eight special teams tackles.
Robinson, 24, is a three-year NFL veteran with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2020-22) and New York Jets (2022). The 5-foot-9, 219-pounder originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Jacksonville on April 27, 2020 at Illinois State. He was traded from Jacksonville to the New York Jets on October 25, 2022 for a conditional draft pick in 2023. Overall, he has played in 39 regular season games with 32 starts and has 2,262 rushing yards on 514 attempts with 18 touchdowns and 91 receptions for 617 yards with five touchdowns. As a 2020 rookie, Robinson became the fourth undrafted player to reach 1,000 yards after finishing with 1,070 yards, joining Dominic Rhodes (Indianapolis), LeGarrette Blount (Tampa Bay) and Phillip Lindsay (Denver). His 1,414 scrimmage yards in his rookie season is the most scrimmage yards by an undrafted rookie in NFL history. Last season he played in 11 games with five total starts and had 425 rushing yards on 110 carries with three touchdowns and 11 receptions for 51 yards with two touchdowns.
Smith-Schuster, 26, is a six-year NFL veteran with Pittsburgh (2017-21) and Kansas City (2022). The 6-foot-1, 215-pound player originally entered the NFL as a second-round draft pick (62nd overall) by Pittsburgh of Southern California in the 2017 NFL Draft. He signed with Kansas City as an unrestricted free agent from Pittsburgh on March 21, 2022. Overall, he played in 79 regular season games with 65 starts and had 401 receptions for 4,788 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also returned nine kickoffs for 240 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, Smith-Schuster has played in six postseason games with five starts and has 31 receptions for 277 yards and two touchdowns. He earned Pro Bowl honors in 2018 after finishing with 111 receptions for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns and 18 100-yard games. Last season with Kansas City, he played in 16 games with 14 starts and recorded 78 receptions for 933 yards and three touchdowns.