Getty New Las Vegas Raiders QB Marcus Peters.
After weeks of speculation, Marcus Peters is a Las Vegas Raider. The veteran cornerback signed a one-year contract, the team announced on July 24.
Peters immediately becomes one of the most experienced defenders on the Raiders and brings a Pro Bowl pedigree. The only other players on the Raiders’ defense to have made Pro Bowls are defensive ends Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones.
For his part, Crosby is hyped for Peters to join the team. Shortly after the news broke, the defensive end posted a picture of a Peters jersey on Twitter and said “Need That Silver & Black One Now.” He also welcomed the cornerback to Las Vegas.
Need That Silver & Black One Now… WELCOME TO THE GANG @marcuspeters 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
With veterans reporting to training camp on July 25, it won’t take long for Crosby and Peters to get together as teammates.
Marcus Peters Addresses Las Vegas Raiders Signing
Marcus Peters joins his cousin Marshawn Lynch and wide receiver Davante Adams as Oakland-area natives who were able to sign with the Raiders. Though the team calls Las Vegas home, Peters still has a love for the franchise.
He gave some thoughts on joining the silver and black.
“So far, it’s the Raiders,” Peters said in a video he posted on his Instagram on July 24. “It’s the team that I watch (when) I grew up. It’s the team that low key believe in me that I can come in and still make a change.”
Peters was 10 years old the last time the Raiders won a playoff game. He’s well aware of the struggles the team has had over the last two decades. He’s hoping to be part of the group that finally turns things around and brings a culture of winning.
“We gotta up the standard, and the standard’s gonna be sick,” Peters said in a July 24 video posted by the Raiders’ Twitter account.
The only season a team that Peters was on that didn’t make the playoffs was in 2021 when he missed the entire year with a torn ACL. In seasons where he has remained healthy, he has been to the playoffs every time. He brings experience as a winner to Las Vegas and should provide leadership to a very young secondary that doesn’t feature a cornerback who has started more than 20 games.
Raider Nation, @marcuspeters has one message for you 🏴☠️
Marcus Peters Expected to Start
With 103 career regular season starts, Marcus Peters is easily the most experienced cornerback on the Raiders. Though he’s joining the team late in the offseason, he should be in line to start in one of the outside cornerback openings, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic.
“Peters is an Oakland native and grew up a Raiders fan, so this is a reunion of sorts,” Reed wrote in a July 24 article. “And, more importantly, he provides some stability to a cornerback room that exited OTAs without any clear answers as to who was in position to start. Now, the Raiders have at least one outside starting cornerback in place with Peters onboard.”
Peters is coming off of a down season with just one interception and six passes defender. The Raiders are banking on him returning to 2020 form where he had four interceptions and nine passes defended. If he can play to that level, he’ll be a big upgrade for the Raiders defense.