Getty Josh McDaniels & Dave Ziegler of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Las Vegas Raiders needed some additional depth at cornerback and it’s now on the way. According to a July 24 tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team has signed cornerback Marcus Peters to a one-year contract.
Signing Peters is a move that has been expected ever since The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed reported on June 14 that it was likely to happen. He immediately becomes the Raiders’ most experienced cornerback. Prior to his signing, third-year cornerback Nate Hobbs had more career starts than any other cornerback on the roster with 20. Peters comes in having started in 103 career games.
The Oakland, California, native spent the last four years with the Baltimore Ravens after stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams. He has been one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL over his career and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2016 and 2019 and Second-team All-Pro in 2015 and 2019. In 2019, he was named First-Team for defensive back and Second-Team for cornerback.
He is also a three-time Pro Bowler and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year back in 2015.
Will Marcus Peters Start for the Las Vegas Raiders?
Marcus Peters is joining the Raiders just a day before training camp. Many of the other cornerbacks on the roster have had much more time to get accustomed to the defense. However, Peters will have a strong chance to start. As noted previously, he has significantly more starting experience than any other cornerback on the roster.
He also has proven ability as a ballhawk. The Raiders were tied for the fewest interceptions in the NFL last season with six. Peters has 32 interceptions in his career, including two seasons with six or more. That said, he is 30 now and only had one interception last season. He’s also a year removed from a torn ACL injury that caused him to miss the entire 2021 season. If he can stay healthy, he should be in line to start. He was Pro Football Focus‘ 49th-ranked cornerback in the NFL last season. The only cornerback rated higher on the Raiders was Duke Shelley, who is in his first season with the team. A possible trio would be Shelley and Peters starting on the outside with Nate Hobbs on the inside. However, it will be difficult to know who the favorites to start will be until the Raiders boot up training camp.
Marcus Peters Gets to Play for Team He Grew up a Fan Of
Though the Raiders play in Las Vegas now, playing for them will be a bit of a homecoming for Marcus Peters. He grew up in Oakland where the team played from 1960 to 1981 then again from 1995 to 2019. He started off his career playing for the Chiefs, a hated rival, but he has always been a fan of the Raiders.
“It’s going to be real special because I’m a Raiders fan at heart, but I’m a Chief now,” Peters said in a 2015 interview with The Mercury News when he was about to play his first NFL game in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum during his rookie year.
Peters now gets to be part of a potential turnaround for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2002.