Vikings Poised to Complete Defense With $60 Million Free Agent Ballhawk

Getty Marcus Peters on the field for the Ravens in a 2022 game.

The Minnesota Vikings are looking to solve their problems in the secondary with a competition of young cornerbacks this summer.

And while a winner in training camp will emerge, there’s no guarantee that they’ll succeed in the regular season with little playing inexperience beyond Byron Murphy Jr.

Fortunately, Minnesota has $17.8 million in cap space, the eighth most in the league, and could use some of those funds for a more proven option. Three-time All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters is a potential candidate.

Peters, 30, is considered the top cornerback available by ESPN’s Matt Bowen due to his ball-hawking ability in the secondary and his vision to be a difference-maker as an occasional pass rusher — a trait defensive coordinator Brian Flores is looking for in his secondary.

Peters has 32 career interceptions, six of which he’s returned for touchdowns, and 11 forced fumbles. While Peters struggled with injury last season, he’s provided plenty of snaps throughout his career.

“One of the league’s premier interception hawks at cornerback, Peters failed to record multiple picks for the first time in his career in 2022,” Pro Football Focus (PFF) analyst Brad Spielberger wrote. “[Peters] suffered a calf strain in December that sidelined him for the final three weeks of the regular season, but it was just his first season outside of 2021 (missed the entire year) where he didn’t log at least 900 snaps.”

The No. 18 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Peters has made $60.5 million in his career, according to Over the Cap. Spotrac projects Peters to garner a deal worth $9.8 million annually in free agency.

Marcus Peters Is an Ideal Fit for Brian Flores’ Scheme

The Vikings are undergoing a rehaul of the defense but haven’t done Flores any favors this offseason.

Minnesota parted ways with veterans  Za’Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson,  Eric Kendricks and the entire starting cornerback trio of Patrick Peterson, Duke Shelley and Chandon Sullivan.

The biggest departure scheme-wise will be the Vikings sitting back in shell coverage. For the majority of last season, the Vikings deployed man coverage at the second-lowest rate in the league, per PFF.

Flores will rely on his corners to play man coverage often to match his penchant for blitzing and disrupting the quarterback.

Peters finished as the third-best coverage cornerback throughout the 2020 and 2021 seasons, although he missed the 2021 season due to an ACL injury. According to PFF, Peters allowed a 40.7% completion rate and a 56.9 passer rating when targeted in man coverage, forcing incompletions on 18.5% of snaps.

Peters struggled last season and hasn’t replicated that type of performance since 2020 but there is a possibility of a renaissance.

“Peters was coming back from a torn ACL in his knee that cost him the entire 2021 season. It’s plenty reasonable to think Peters will rebound now that he’s another year removed from the knee injury,” The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec wrote. “It’s also possible that because of the injury and his age, last year was a sign of things to come.”

 Vikings CB Competition a Must-See at Training Camp

Eleven cornerbacks are currently rostered with six most likely to make the final 53-man roster in September — making the cornerback competition one of training camp’s most contentious battles this summer.

Third-round pick Mekhi Blackmon joins 2022 second-round pick Andrew Booth Jr. and 2022 fourth-rounder Akayleb Evans as the frontrunners for the other two starting spots — but none have yet to play a full season in the NFL.

Minnesota also signed former New England Patriots second-round Joejuan Williams who should compete for a roster spot. Claimed off waivers in May, veteran cornerback John Reid is among the dark horses for the final roster spot.