EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – A third Giants captain has been lost for the season due to injury.
The Giants today placed safety Jabrill Peppers on injured reserve with two injuries to his right leg – a rupture to the ACL in his knee and a high ankle sprain. He was hurt in the third quarter of the Giants’ 25-3 victory Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
Peppers is the third of the Giants’ seven captains to suffer a season-ending injury. Offensive lineman Nick Gates suffered a fractured lower left leg at Washington on Sept. 16 and middle linebacker Blake Martinez tore his ACL 10 days later against Atlanta. Another captain, running back Saquon Barkley, has missed the last two games with a sprained ankle he sustained in Dallas on Oct. 10.
The Peppers transaction was one of several the Giants made today. The team waived cornerback Josh Jackson and wide receiver David Sills. Another defensive back, J.R. Reed, terminated his practice squad contract with the Los Angeles Rams and will join the Giants’ active roster tomorrow. Defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton was terminated from the practice squad.
Peppers is a five-year veteran who is in his third season with the Giants. This season, he played in all six games with five starts and had 30 tackles (19 solo), including a three-yard sack of Sam Darnold on Sunday, two tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and one pass defensed.
A 2017 first-round draft choice by the Cleveland Browns, Peppers was acquired in a trade, along with first and third-round draft choices, for Odell Beckham, Jr. on March 13, 2019. He has started 30 of the 32 games in which he’s played for the Giants. Peppers was elected a team captain each of the last two seasons.
Reed, 6-1 and 194 pounds, played in one game for the Rams this season – Sept. 19 at Indianapolis – and seven plus two postseason games last year. He was credited with two tackles in the regular season and three (two solo) in the playoffs.
Reed becomes the fifth former Georgia Bulldog on the Giants, joining linebackers Lorenzo Carter, Tae Crowder, Azeez Ojulari and tackle Andrew Thomas (who is currently on injured reserve).
Reed entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020. He was waived at the end of training camp and signed four days later to the Rams’ practice squad. Reed was added to the active roster three times last season. The Rams released him on Oct. 2 and signed Reed to their practice squad on Oct. 5.
Reed began his college career at Tulsa in 2015. After sitting out the 2016 season as a transfer, he played in 42 games in three seasons as Georgia, where he was credited with 204 tackles (109 solo) and had five interceptions and 3.0 sacks.
Reed’s father, Jake, played in the NFL for 12 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints.
Jackson was obtained by the Giants on Aug. 17 in a trade with Green Bay for fellow corner Isaac Yiadom. He suffered a calf injury and was inactive for all seven games this season.
Sills made his NFL debut on Sunday, one day after he was signed off the Giants’ practice squad. He was targeted once but did not catch a pass.
Sills spent the entire 2020 season on injured reserve after fracturing his foot in training camp. In the 2021 preseason, Sills had a team-high seven receptions, for 94 yards, including an eight-yard touchdown in Cleveland.
Hamilton was signed to the practice squad last Tuesday.
