The Las Vegas Raiders made one of the splash defensive signings of the offseason by bringing in veteran cornerback Marcus Peters to lead their secondary. It’s a signing the Raiders hope will improve a defense that has struggled in recent seasons, especially in the back half.
Peters was born and raised in Oakland, attending high school in the city before eventually making the move up to Washington for college. In his NFL career, he has been with the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens but has never found his way back to his hometown team.
Now, even though they are in Las Vegas instead of Oakland, Peters has completed the journey and ended up right where he’s always wanted to be. He spoke about what it means to him to join the Raiders and be a part of the franchise he grew up rooting for.
“I was always a Raider, man,” Peters said. “It was something that was in me since I was a little kid, but it feels good to be a Raider now, to be able to play in the same uniforms that I watched growing up.”
As a four-time All-Pro, Peters knows how to get it done in the secondary and will immediately be arguably the best corner on the team next season as he joins the likes of Nate Hobbs, Marcus Epps and Tre’von Moehrig.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact Peters will have in Las Vegas during the 2023 campaign, as the Raiders desperately need to take a step forward defensively if this team truly wants to compete for a playoff spot in the highly competitive AFC.
All the while, Peters will get to help the Raiders make this leap as he wears the uniform he grew up idolizing. It’s certainly a full-circle moment for the All-Pro ballhawk.
Chandler Jones thinks Peters will help pass rush
While Peters is not a flawless corner, he has been one of the best playmakers at the position since entering the league in 2015. After missing all of 2021 with a torn ACL, Peters returned to the field last season but had the lowest output of his career with just one interception and six passes defensed in 13 games with the Baltimore Ravens.
Statistics don’t always tell the whole story and the Raiders absolutely believe Peters will be a great addition to the team. In fact, Chandler Jones believes a ballhawk like Peters in the secondary will help out the pass rush.
“Yeah. Well, anytime you can get a veteran on the team, someone that has experience and Marcus is a hell of a player,” Jones said after a recent practice. “He’s someone that I think is a lockdown corner, he’s someone that plays very hard, and it helps them.
“If you can get more impact players in the secondary it also ties together, it correlates. So, hopefully the quarterback holds the ball longer, more time for me and Maxx [Crosby] and the others to get to the quarterback.”
