Rams not sure about Peters?

Rams soon must decide how much cornerback Marcus Peters is worth

Vincent Bonsignore

https://theathletic.com/1000907/2019/05/29/rams-soon-must-decide-how-much-cornerback-marcus-peters-is-worth/

Marcus Peters randomly appeared on a Hawaii newscast this month to do the local weather report. Aside from being ridiculously funny — and much more complicated than Peters could have imagined — the clip made him sort of an unofficial meteorologist. So as the Rams cornerback stepped off the field Tuesday after an OTA practice, someone asked for a forecast.

Peters looked up at the clear, picturesque Southern California sky and smiled.

“It’s sunshine today, man,” he said. “We doing good. We doing good in L.A.”

As for his own long-range forecast in L.A., well, that’s still too early to predict. Peters, like fellow starting cornerback Aqib Talib, is slated to play out the last year of his contract in 2019.

Rams coach Sean McVay has indicated a desire to lock up the 26-year-old Peters long-term, and by all indications, Peters wants to remain in L.A. well beyond next season.

And while the Rams have shown a tendency to lock up players they consider core pieces — last summer they extended right tackle Rob Havenstein, All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald, running back Todd Gurley and receiver Brandin Cooks — they’ve also been selective, if not entirely reluctant, to do so with defensive backs.

Over the last three years, they’ve let cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins and safeties Rodney McLeod, T.J. McDonald and Lamarcus Joyner leave as free agents. In fact, aside from extending slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman last offseason, the current front office — including vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff and general manager Les Snead — has shown a tepid appetite for getting involved in long-term contract relationships with defensive backs.

The Rams have made it clear they intend to keep emerging third-year safety John Johnson around for the foreseeable future, so it looks like that trend may soon come to an end. But Johnson has two years remaining on his rookie deal, and probably won’t get a new one until next offseason at the earliest.

With Peters’ contract ending after the season, he is first in line to reverse the Rams’ recent approach. For now, though, it looks like a situation they’ll table until next March.

That means next season will essentially turn into a prove-it year for Peters.

And it means the Rams could be setting themselves up for a 2020 offseason in which they’ll have to replace their two starting cornerbacks. In fact, as of now, Robey-Coleman is the only cornerback with notable NFL experience who is under contract beyond 2019.

The Rams drafted Michigan cornerback David Long — a rugged defender who shined as a man-cover corner for the Wolverines — this year with the hope he grows and develops during his first year and is ready to take over a starting position in 2020. But it remains to be seen how viable Long is a trusted piece.

Any way you look at it, it’s a precarious situation. Yes, the Rams are fully focused on 2019 and their unfinished business coming off a Super Bowl loss. But their long-range situation at cornerback is clearly an issue they have to address.

Peters, at least publicly, appears content with letting things play out.

“The only thing I can do is come in and do my job and be the best teammate, be the best player I can be on the field, and the rest of the stuff will take care of itself,” Peters said. “I’m not too worried about it.”

If Peters and the Rams do talk about an extension, the starting point — or at least the range — Peters will point to is the recent five-year, $75 million ($39.2 million guaranteed) record-breaking extension Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard signed with the Miami Dolphins last month.

Given the Rams’ reluctance to lock up defensive backs, that price tag almost seems prohibitive. Throw in the fact that the Rams also will be dealing with the potential free agency of linebackers Dante Fowler and Cory Littleton, guard Austin Blythe, defensive lineman Michael Brockers, tight end Tyler Higbee and kicker Greg Zuerlein at the end of next season, plus quarterback Jared Goff and Johnson after 2020, and you wonder how prudent it would be to allocate that kind of money to Peters.

Going into last season, just after the Rams acquired Peters for second- and fourth-round draft picks, the smart bet would have been on Peters sticking around well beyond 2019, considering his impressive resume over the first three years of his career in Kansas City. His 19 interceptions were the most in the NFL from 2015-17 and he seemed to be a perfect fit as a lockdown corner in coordinator Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defense.

But 2018 didn’t unfold as expected. Peters struggled as a man-cover corner — an issue that was exasperated by a calf injury he suffered against the Chargers in Week 3 — and for a long stretch during the first half of the season, he was a liability.

Peters, it turns out, is much more effective in zone concepts, when he can face the line of scrimmage, read the quarterback and developments in front of him and make plays in reaction mode. Phillips, realizing the issue, began playing coverages more to Peters’ strengths, and his play over the last half of the season positively reflected the adjustment.

To his credit, Peters never complained or made excuses about the injury or the scheme. And his readiness and willingness to respond through his play, rather than his words, certainly resonated with the Rams.

“He stayed the course, took accountability, and I thought he played his best ball toward the end of the year,” McVay said.

The question is, are the Rams willing to invest the kind of money needed to re-sign Peters, knowing he may never be the sort of lock-down man cornerback that Phillips desires for his 3-4 defense? Or is he simply what he is — a good zone coverage corner — and is it worth the investment it might require to keep him around?

Peters still has time to prove he can be a better scheme fit, and in the process create more comfort for the Rams to reward him with a multi-year extension. You get the feeling the Rams are going to take the necessary time to figure that out.

As for Talib, he missed eight weeks last year recovering from a Week 3 ankle injury, but his play was impressive when he was healthy. In fact, his return against the Detroit Lions in Week 12 had a calming effect on Peters, whom Talib quickly befriended and mentored after the Rams acquired him from the Denver Broncos.

Talib is 32 years old, but keeps himself in tremendous shape and whatever steps he’s lost, he’s made up for with experience and intelligence.

Depending on his performance in 2019, it’s conceivable the Rams could re-sign Talib to a reasonable extension and keep him in L.A. for a couple more years. If so, it gives them some flexibility in dealing with the other cornerback spot.

Maybe Peters solidifies himself as a long-term fixture, or at the least a candidate for the franchise tag in 2020. In that scenario, the cornerback tandem might return intact for at least one more year.

But if not — or if Peters’ contract expectations exceed how high the Rams are willing to go — maybe Long will be ready to take over and the Rams could be looking at a tandem of Talib and Long.

Either way, Peters will have a major say in how all this plays out.

And you get the sense Rams are content with giving him the 2019 season to state his case as a long-term fixture.