New England Patriots safety and former Paramus Catholic player Jabrill Peppers on special teams against the New York Jets in the second half. The Jets lose to the Patriots, 15-10, at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in East Rutherford. Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Steelers Reveal Jabrill Peppers Jersey Number

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated Sep 10, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Upon officially signing to the Pittsburgh Steelers' 53-man roster, safety Jabrill Peppers has decided on a new jersey number with the fourth organization of his NFL career.

Per the team's roster on their official website, Peppers will don No. 40 with the black and gold. The most recent Steeler to wear it was linebacker Devin Harper, who did so during the 2024 campaign despite not appearing in a regular season game.

Safety Myron Bell is perhaps the most notable player to wear No. 40 in Pittsburgh, as he first used it from 1994-1997 after being selected in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He spent the 1998 and 1999 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, though he returned to the Steelers in 2000 and wore No. 42 that year before switching back to No. 40 for the last campaign of his career in 2001.

Across 80 total games for Pittsburgh, Bell recorded 159 tackles, five forced fumbles, 3.5 sacks and three interceptions.

Peppers wore No. 5 throughout his prolific career at the University of Michigan, where he was an All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2016.

The NFL hadn't yet allowed defensive players to use single-digit numbers when he entered the league as a Cleveland Browns first-round pick in 2017, however, meaning he wore No. 22 for the first two seasons of his professional career.

After being sent to the New York Giants as part of the Odell Beckham Jr. trade in March 2019, Peppers switched to No. 21 for his entire three-year stint with the team through 2021.

He went on to sign with the New England Patriots before the 2022 campaign and opted to wear No. 3 that season. Peppers stuck around with the organization through 2024, and he switched back to No. 5 for his last two seasons with them.

With Jalen Ramsey holding claim to No. 5 in Pittsburgh, however, while Corliss Waitman (No. 3), Chuck Clark (No. 21) and Juan Thornhill (No. 22) are currently using the other numbers that Peppers has donned, he was forced to switch some things up in this chapter of his career.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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