FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today that they have claimed rookie DT Eric Gregory off waivers from the Cincinnati Bengals and released S Jabrill Peppers from the 53-man roster and G Jack Conley from the practice squad. In addition, the Patriots signed T Thayer Munford Jr. to the practice squad.
Gregory, 24, was signed by Cincinnati out of Arkansas on May 9, 2025. The 6-foot-3, 319-pounder, was released by Cincinnati on Aug. 28, 2025. He played in 61 games with 44 starts over six seasons at Arkansas and amassed 135 total tackles, 9½ sacks, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.
Peppers, 29, is a veteran of eight NFL seasons with the Cleveland Browns (2017-18), New York Giants (2019-21) and New England (2022-24). The 5-foot-11, 217-pounder originally entered the NFL as a first-round draft pick (25th overall) by Cleveland out of Michigan in the 2017 NFL Draft. He was traded by Cleveland to the New York Giants along with OL Kevin Zeitler and a 2019 first and third-round draft pick in exchange for WR Odell Beckham Jr. and DL Olivier Vernon on March 13, 2019. He joined New England as an unrestricted free agent from the New York Giants on April 4, 2022. Peppers has played in 99 games with 85 starts and has 494 total tackles, 5½ sacks, 7 interceptions with one returned for a touchdown, 35 passes defensed, 6 forced fumbles and 6 fumble recoveries. In addition, he has returned 87 punts for 719 yards and 34 kicks for 749 yards.
Munford Jr., 25, originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. The 6-foot-5, 354-pounder, was released by Las Vegas on Aug. 27, 2025. He has played in 46 NFL games with 18 starts with 11 at right tackle, five at left tackle and two as a tackle-eligible tight end.
