49ers, Browns Were Interested In Peters?

The Chiefs made another seismic trade this offseason, this time sending one of their best players to the Rams. But multiple other teams may have been interested in Marcus Peters prior to the Rams landing him.

Both the 49ers and Browns were interested in determining what it would cost to acquire the fourth-year cornerback, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). However, Rapoport and NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo describe (on Twitter) both teams’ interest as “lukewarm” in the All-Pro corner.

However, it’s clear the Rams pushed talks to a degree their reported competition wasn’t willing to.

Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star reports (via Twitter) the Browns were not interested in bringing Peters to Cleveland. Additionally, the 49ers were interested, but both Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link) and Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com report San Francisco did not submit an offer to Kansas City for Peters.

The Rams’ talks advanced to the point the Chiefs were seeking to add another big name to their defense in Robert Quinn, along with a pick, Rapoport tweets. This would have been interesting because Quinn’s play has not been on the level it was during his Pro Bowl seasons during the mid-2010s and the pass-rushing talent makes far more than Peters does at this point. Unlike Kendall Fuller coming to K.C. in the Alex Smith trade, the Chiefs did not get much 2018 salary relief by unloading Peters, who is entering the fourth season of his rookie deal. Quinn is set to earn $12.4MM this season.

Both the 49ers and Browns have needs at corner. Each team already visited with Vontae Davis, and Maiocco notes the 49ers are likely to be connected to big-name corners — including free agent-to-be Trumaine Johnson — come March. The Rams will not retain Johnson, per Rapoport.

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