The Baltimore Ravens are excited about the returns of a number of injured players in 2022, but perhaps none more so than star cornerback Marcus Peters.
Peters was forced to miss the entire 2021 season after suffering a torn ACL in practice prior to the start of the year. His loss was one of the first major losses in what proved to be an injury-riddled disaster of a season for the Ravens.
Now healthy again, the Ravens are looking forward to his return to the gridiron. However, not everyone believes that return should come in Baltimore.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox recently put together a list of eight NFL players who should be traded, and Peters’ name popped up as a potential trade candidate.
"“Instead of banking on a return to form from Peters, the Ravens should see what they can get for the 29-year-old on the trade market. He’ll turn 30 next offseason and will be a free agent. Moving him now would save Baltimore $10 million off the cap while only incurring a dead-cap hit of $5.5 million.”"
Could the Ravens consider trading Marcus Peters?
This isn’t the first time that Peters’ name has appeared as part of trade speculation this offseason. The 29-year-old is coming off a major injury and entering the final year of his contract. There’s some logic to what Knox is suggesting.
Knox also points out that the Ravens could use the extra cap space saved to try and work out an extension for star quarterback Lamar Jackson, although money doesn’t appear to be the issue with that situation right now.
If the Ravens don’t plan to extend Peters past his current contract, one could argue that trading him to recoup assets does make sense. But on the other end of the spectrum, it’s hard to see Baltimore parting ways with such an important part of their defense.
The Ravens are counting on a healthy Peters returning in 2022 with the hope that he could solidify one of the best secondaries in the NFL. If he were to be traded, who fills that role?
Kyle Fuller? A rookie like Jalyn Armour-Davis or Dmaarion Williams? The Ravens don’t exactly have the luxury of stellar depth in their cornerback room. Would the team really want to risk a repeat of what happened last season?
On the surface, trading Peters could make some sense, but it just isn’t feasible with their current roster construction. It would take a ridiculous offer for the Ravens to even entertain the idea of moving Peters this summer.
Don’t expect Marcus Peters to be traded anytime soon. That ship has likely sailed.