Marcus Peters Fallout: Reid, Draft, Contract

Andy Reid and Clark Hunt were not yet on board with Marcus Peters as a long-term Chiefs component, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). Concern inside Chiefs headquarters centered on a possible Peters extension, per Rapoport. The fourth-year cornerback is now eligible for a long-term deal, and it’s fairly clear the Chiefs had significant reservations about being the team that signed the accomplished corner to that contract. And that issue may have been forced this year. But Peters’ issues in the locker room played a key part in the franchise wanting to trade him, Rapoport reports.

The Chiefs knew Peters would demand to be the NFL’s highest-paid corner, Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star reports, leading to this preemptive strike. Peters is set to make barely $3MM this season, and the Rams are now responsible for picking up his fifth-year option — which they surely will given the timing of this trade. Peters skipped OTAs last year, and Paylor notes a possible training camp holdout could have transpired this summer. A 2016 first-team All-Pro and 2015 defensive rookie of the year, Peters received his best Pro Football Focus assessment for his 2017 work. Entering his age-25 season, Peters has 19 interceptions. He forced a career-high five fumbles in 2017.

Here’s more from the Peters front.

  • Rapoport reports this Rams/Chiefs deal will bring a package of picks to the Chiefs, but none of those is believed to be a first-rounder. That will mean the Chiefs still do not have a 2018 first-rounder after shipping it to the Bills in last year’s Patrick Mahomes deal. Kansas City picked up an extra third-rounder in January’s Alex Smith deal and collected a compensatory sixth-rounder in this draft as well. The Rams already shipped a 2018 second-round pick to the Bills for Sammy Watkins, so this latest trade could leave Los Angeles’ selection supply weakened.
  • Wade Phillips‘ strong personality should mesh well with Peters’ polarizing style, Bucky Brooks of NFL.com tweets, recalling a conversation he had with a veteran defensive backs coach when Peters was draft-eligible in 2015. Phillips’ ability to get through to Aqib Talib helped the Broncos’ mercurial corner craft the most memorable portion of his career, with Talib helping the Broncos to a Super Bowl title in his first season with Phillips and landing on the All-Pro first team in his second.
  • The 49ers were also interested in Peters, with the Browns’ interest being disputed, but the Seahawks were not exploring a Peters back back to Seattle despite his history in the city, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. Peters was kicked off the University of Washington’s team during the 2014 season. Additionally, the playmaking corner measures just under 6-foot and has 31 1/2-inch arms. Pointing out the Seahawks haven’t drafted a boundary corner with arms shorter than 32 inches during Pete Carroll‘s tenure, Condotta writes Peters may not have been a fit in Seattle.
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