Ravens trade for Marcus Peters gives them great secondary
The Ravens aren’t satisfied with their two game lead in the AFC North. Trading for Marcus Peters is a move to prepare them for the playoffs.
Lamar Jackson has the Ravens’ offense humming, but the defense in Baltimore hasn’t been up to the franchise’s usual standards. Today’s trade for cornerback Marcus Peters is a clear sign that the Ravens are not a franchise that will be satisfied with just making the playoffs.
Instead, Baltimore is a team that believes they can make serious noise in the postseason. That’s why they made the deal to send linebacker Kenny Young to Los Angeles in exchange for Peters. The addition of Peters to a secondary that already features Earl Thomas at safety suddenly turns the group into one of the top pass defending units in the NFL.
That’s a quality that any team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations needs to possess. Baltimore’s defense already stood at ninth in DVOA per Football Outsiders, but the team had definite question marks at cornerback. The absence of Jimmy Smith, in particular, has been a big problem for John Harbaugh and his coaching staff.
Peters isn’t a perfect player or the most stable presence in the locker room, but he will provide the Ravens with an immediate upgrade at cornerback. He has the size, strength and competitive nature to match-up favorably with big, physical receivers. The presence of Thomas at safety behind him should give Peters enough protection against his propensity to get burned by speedy wideouts.
The Rams were likely willing to let Peters go now because they were not interested in signing him to a long-term contract. He will hit free agency in the offseason and he will almost certainly be looking for top-flight money at his position. Some team might be willing to pay him in that range, but clearly Los Angeles wasn’t that franchise.
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Instead, Peters will head to Baltimore and try to push them from a solid playoff team to a legitimate Super Bowl contender. It’s a risk for the Ravens, but it’s one certainly worth taking.