The Las Vegas Raiders defense will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2022 season.
Maxx Crosby returns as the Raiders’ surefire leader on that side of the field, with rookies like Tyree Wilson hoping to inject some more juice up front. However, Las Vegas did well to address their secondary in free agency by signing former Philadelphia Eagle Marcus Epps.
Epps started every game for an Eagles team that made it all the way to Super Bowl LVII. During 2022, Epps recorded a career-high 94 tackles, leading to a rich two-year, $12 million deal with the Raiders.
The safety is locked in as one of the starters for the Silver and Black and has so far been impressed with how his new teammates have embraced getting ready for 2023. When it comes to playing good defense, Epps believes everything boils down to their mindset via Raiders:
“Honestly, I think a lot of that is really just a mindset. It doesn’t just happen in the games, it starts in practice and I feel like right now it’s early but we’ve come in with a good mindset. I’ve seen the improvement day-in and day-out of guys really making an effort to learn the defense, to get more comfortable with the different coverages that we’re running. So I think that’s where it starts, of just knowing how you can play different coverages and whatnot. And then from there, it’s just a mindset of bringing that attitude each and every day in practice of, ‘I’m gonna go get the ball.’ Once you start doing that, it just becomes habit and good things start happening in the games.”
Coming from an Eagles defense that ranked as one of the NFL’s best last season, Epps knows a thing or two but what it takes to be elite in that phase of the game. His leadership and experience will be invaluable to a relatively young Raiders defense that needs to be better in order to give them a shot at competing next season.
Raiders likely to sign Marcus Peters
With training camp right around the corner, Las Vegas should continue scouring the market, looking for veterans on cheap deals that could contribute. In that vein, the Raiders hosted Marcus Peters for a visit last month, and the two sides have reportedly stayed in contact.
Although nothing has been decided yet, it seems that the Raiders are the most likely landing spot for Peters who grew up in Oakland.
