Eric DeCosta has done a great job as the Ravens general manager this year. The Marcus Peters trade makes that obvious:
General Manager Eric DeCosta has been a busy man in his first official season as the Baltimore Ravens general manager. So far, he has traded away backup kicker Kaare Vedvik to Minnesota for a fifth round pick; along with trading OL Jermaine Eluemenor to New England for sixth and fourth round picks.
He also was able to move on from the Joe Flacco era by getting a fourth round pick from John Elway and the Denver Broncos. Now, a trade with the Los Angeles Rams for Pro Bowl corner Marcus Peters seems to be the icing on the cake.
The Ravens appear to be the winners of this trade. Giving up a 5th round pick and an under performing player in Kenny Young, can’t hurt the team as much as adding Peters should help out. It should be noted that Young had been benched when the Ravens picked up Josh Bynes. DeCosta has gotten great value in each of his first three moves, including this trade. Gaining an immediate impact player for someone they didn’t seem to plan on using very much makes plenty of sense for Baltimore.
The addition of Peters should eventually turn this Baltimore defense into a force to be reckoned with. On paper, throwing the football against Earl Thomas, Peters, Marlon Humphrey, Jimmy Smith, and Brandon Carr seems like a bad idea.
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This trade seems to come with almost zero risk. In the “worst case scenario” where Peters walks after this season, Baltimore should be awarded with a fourth round compensatory pick. While the pass rush continues to struggle, it is at least comforting to know that there should be a few more coverage sacks coming Baltimore’s way.
This trade was a complete necessity. The schedule poses little to no favors for this Baltimore defense in the upcoming future. After taking on the Seahawks in Seattle, the Ravens will be forced to prepare for the elite passing games of the New England Patriots and Houston Texans. Also, back to back games against the Rams (who just acquired Jalen Ramsey) and the extremely hot 49ers are coming weeks 12 and 13. This move, if nothing, adds some serious padding to a quite depleted Ravens secondary.
A win against a divisional opponent always feels good. DeCosta took very little time to celebrate the victory before making a few phone calls. Coming off a game where Lamar Jackson continued to make history, now as the first QB to throw for 200 yards and run for 150, Baltimore’s move for Peters now makes us believe they are taking a shot at the Super Bowl this year.
Along with Jackson’s performance, the Ravens defense erased the Bengals run game and shut down each Bengals receiver not named Auden Tate. Andy Dalton ran in the only TD given up by Baltimore (kick return first play). Marlon Humphrey looked like a stud once again coming up with an interception and limiting Tyler Boyd to only 10 yards on three catches!
Chuck Clark and DeShon Elliot also looked pretty good in their first week filling in for injured Tony Jefferson’s minutes. Sadly, Elliot went down with a knee injury and was placed on IR, unlikely to return. That seemed to be what could have been the final blow to this already mangled Ravens defense, enter Eric DeCosta…
There were plenty of worries surrounding Ozzie Newsome’s stepping down from the GM position; however, DeCosta has been doing quite a good job as his successor. Look for the newest addition, Peters, to make an immediate impact in what could prove to be a turning point for the Ravens season this Sunday in Seattle.