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Home, Sweet Home: Ex-Panther Peprah hopes to finish NFL career in Dallas
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
When Plano East alum Charlie Peprah first entered the NFL, the last team he wanted to play for was the Dallas Cowboys.
Not because of any disdain toward the team -- in the fact, it was quite the opposite for the lifelong Cowboys fan -- but because of the usual circus that accompanies a pro athlete playing close to his hometown. As the former Panther has become more tenured in the NFL that initial reluctance has simmered, evidenced Oct. 24 when Peprah officially signed to continue his career with the Cowboys.
"Now that I'm in my seventh season," Peprah said, "I think I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but in Dallas. I'd like to finish my career here and I'm blessed for the opportunity."
"I was really surprised," Peprah said. "When I found out their plans to move Charles Woodson to safety, that's when I thought maybe they wanted to use me in third-down situations.
"Once they moved Charles to safety, I saw the direction they were heading in."
The release ended the two-year tenure of Peprah's second stint in Green Bay after being drafted by the Packers in 2006.
Spending five of his six years in the NFL with the Packers, it was Peprah's second run with the team that proved his most productive. Playing in 30 games during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, the former Panther totaled 157 tackles, seven interceptions, 15 passes defended, one forced fumble and one defensive touchdown. Peprah was also on hand for Super Bowl XLV, where he started at safety and led Green Bay in tackles (10) en route to the team's 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"I had a lot of fun," Peprah said. "I learned how to be a starter in this league and I learned that I have so much more potential to grow as a safety. I feel like my better years are ahead of me and hopefully I can do that [in Dallas]."
Along the way, Peprah sustained a knee injury he attributed to wear and tear.
The safety underwent arthroscopic knee surgery early in the 2012 offseason but as a result, missed Green Bay's Offseason Training Activities. After failing his physical prior to training camp, Peprah was released and so began the process of healing up when he was ready to give it a go with another team. There were no shortage of offers either, with the Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Chicago Bears and Dallas all initially reaching out to Peprah.
"That was the hardest time for me," he said. "I had a handful of teams calling me and I had to sit back and be patient, make sure I was healed up all the way before I accepted any of those offers."
Weighing long-term health versus short-term gratification, the stars aligned between Peprah and Dallas as the safety's knee reached full strength.
While Peprah was in the late stages of his recovery, an injury bug ravaged the Cowboys' secondary, with injuries to Gerald Sensabaugh and Barry Church leaving Dallas with just two safeties on its roster in September. Once Peprah gave his agent the green light to inform teams that he was healthy, the Cowboys came calling and Peprah was one of 17 players in attendance for a workout in early October.
"The workout was on a Friday so I didn't think they were going to sign anybody for real," Peprah said. "I think they ended up signing one player, so I thought that opportunity had passed and then they called me back.
"I was surprised, but definitely thankful."
Now the Texan who grew up playing running back and donning the number 22 as homage to Emmitt Smith continues his career near his hometown.
The Cowboys are on the road against the Atlanta Falcons at 7:20 p.m. today.
"I'm just getting my sea legs back," Peprah said. "I'm not as rusty as I thought I'd be, but there's definitely some stuff I need to clean up with having been out for so long. It's just fun to get into that mode."
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
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