Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers is placed on commissioner's exempt list after his arrest

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The NFL has placed New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers on the exempt list while he goes through the legal process following his arrest on charges that he shoved his girlfriend’s head into the wall and choked her.

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said Wednesday that Peppers won’t be with the team “in the near term.”

“Any act of domestic violence is unacceptable for us,” Mayo said. “With that being said, I do think that Jabrill has to go through the system, has to continue to go through due process. We’ll see how that works out.”

Braintree police said they were called to a home for an altercation between two people early Saturday, and a woman told them Peppers choked her. Police said they found at the home a clear plastic bag containing a white powder, which later tested positive for cocaine.

Peppers was arrested without incident. He posted $2,500 bail; his next court date is scheduled for Nov. 22.

Peppers, 29, pleaded not guilty on Monday in Quincy District Court to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a Class “B” substance believed to be cocaine. His attorney, Marc Brofsky, said in court that evidence “sheds real doubt on the allegations, including videotaped evidence.”

The exempt list allows NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to place a player on paid leave while reviewing his case.

A 2017 first-round draft choice by Cleveland, Peppers spent two seasons with the Browns and three with the New York Giants before coming to New England in 2022. He was signed to an extension this summer.

He missed Sunday’s game, a 15-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins, with a shoulder injury.

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