Jabrill Peppers will play the team that drafted him for the first time.
The safety played just two seasons with the Browns after they settled on him the 25th overall choice in 2017. It was not his decision to leave.
Peppers was part of the trade that sent receiver Odell Beckham from the Giants to the Browns.
Peppers said he learned of the March 12, 2019, trade on Twitter.
“I was actually excited about the trade, thinking, ‘We just got Odell,’” Peppers said Friday, via Mollie Walker of the New York Post. “And I keep looking and then I’m like, ‘Oh s–t. I’m not even here no more.’
“And then [former Browns general manager John] Dorsey called me like 15 minutes after that, and I had already seen the news. I actually spoke to [Giants G.M. Dave] Gettleman before I spoke to Dorsey. It is what it is. That’s the nature of this league. Can’t take it personal. But I’m happy. I’m happy with the outcome. It’s working out for me.”
Cleveland additionally sent offensive guard Kevin Zeitler and their first-and third-round picks in the 2019 draft to the Giants, who included defensive end Olivier Vernon in the deal.
The Giants exercised the fifth-year alternative on Peppers’ rookie contract, promising him $6.8 million in 2021.
Yet, he isn’t entering Sunday’s down attempting to demonstrate anything to the Browns.
“It’s a big game,” Peppers said. “It’s not a big game because it’s my old team. It’s a big game because of what’s at stake. It’s the next game. I’m not going do anything abnormal or anything that I haven’t been doing during the season. Just going to come in, prepare like I’ve been preparing all year and try to do my job to the best of my ability.”
