With the new league year fast approaching and players already changing teams, rumors are swirling about who could potentially be on the move. One player that rumors are starting to surround is Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters.
There some in the league that are wondering if Peters will be on the trade block this offseason, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Due to the team signing David Amerson and receiving Kendall Fuller in the Alex Smith trade, the Chiefs could be stockpiling defensive backs should they move on from Peters.
The Chiefs do have four cornerbacks that will be free agents this offseason. Adding Amerson and Fuller could just be insurance in case Kansas City is unable to re-sign their free agents. But there have been reports that Kansas City has had trouble dealing with Peters’ attitude. If the team is that upset with Peters, they may decide that they need to move on from the third-year cornerback.
Kansas City also must make a decision in May regarding Peters. Since Peters was a first-round pick, the team has the option of extending his rookie contract to a fifth-year. If the reports of the team and Peters being upset with each other, they may not want to extend his contract. And instead of losing him for a compensatory pick in free agency, they would rather prefer more valuable picks or talent.
If this report proves true and the Chiefs put Peters on the trade block, the Browns should be the first to call them. Of any team in the NFL, Cleveland by far has the most draft picks to make a move for Peters. The Browns have five picks in the top 65 of this year’s draft, and it would likely take one or more of those picks to get Peters.
Cleveland could put together the best combination of picks that the Chiefs could get from any team. And they have the man in the front office that may be willing to use those picks to get Peters. And it’s the man that was responsible for the Chiefs drafting Peters in the first round in 2015. That man is former Chiefs general manager and current Browns general manager John Dorsey.
Dorsey was willing to draft Peters in 2015, even with questions about his attitude coming out of college. Dorsey has shown he is willing to deal with hot-heads if it is a talented player. He is motivated to get the Browns turned around and could feel that Peters is talented enough to deal with his personality. Especially with the holes the Browns have on defense, Dorsey may be even more motivated to make a deal.
Cleveland has a major need at defensive back, and specifically cornerback. They have not had a lockdown corner since the team gave Joe Haden a five-year, $68 million extension in 2014. Before that extension, Haden played like a top-five cornerback. But Haden was never the same after that contract and has left the Browns looking for a cornerback since.
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Cleveland’s top two cornerbacks currently are Jason McCourty and Jamar Taylor. Taylor is a solid cornerback but is better playing in the slot. McCourty had a good year for Cleveland, but he will be 31 years old by Week 1 of the 2018 season and does not fit the Browns current rebuild of younger players.
At the age of 25, Peters is one of the best cornerback in the entire NFL. He would slide in perfectly as the Browns number one corner and is a young player that Cleveland can build around. He has recorded 19 interceptions in just three seasons in the NFL. Quarterbacks are forced to avoid throwing his way because of his playmaking and ball skills.
The Browns would also be able to pay Peters the money that he would be seeking in a few years. Peters is going to want to be paid like a top-five cornerback, and Cleveland has the cap space to do so.
However, his attitude could become a bigger concern in Cleveland than it was in Kansas City. In Cleveland, his defensive coordinator would be the fiery Gregg Williams. With both of their personalities virtually the same, it would be hard to see the two not getting into an argument at some point. And it would be hard to see the Browns firing their defensive coordinator because of his relationship with one player.
However, all of this is theoretical. There have been no reports that the Chiefs have been taking calls or close to any deal on Peters. Jason La Canfora added on Monday that he continues to hear “chatter” that Peters’ days in Kansas City may be numbered. But currently, all reports surrounding Peters is speculation. But if the Chiefs feel that it would be the right choice to move on from Peters, the Browns should jump at the opportunity to bring him to Cleveland.
