The Baltimore Ravens have made numerous trades over the past few years, both acquiring high-impact players as well as moving on from other key contributors by sending them to a new team. The organization will explore every avenue to improve themselves, and trading allows them to bring in quality playmakers without having to compete with other teams on the free agent market.
When listing out players that he believes should be on the trade block in 2022, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report named Baltimore cornerback Marcus Peters as one of his choices. Knox talked about the salary cap savings that the team could get from trading the veteran, as well as the fact that the might need additional cap space in order to extend quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“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…The Ravens may need the additional cap space if they’re hoping to extend quarterback Lamar Jackson—who is entering the final year of his rookie deal—this offseason.”
Knox then names his best fit for Peters as the Indianapolis Colts, with his reasoning being that they have $10.6 million in cap space
“The trick would be finding a contender willing to take a bit of a gamble on Peters. The Colts, who have $10.6 million in cap space, could be the perfect trade partner…Peters wouldn’t be out of the AFC, but he’d at least be with a team Baltimore doesn’t play this season. The Colts, meanwhile, acquired quarterback Matt Ryan this offseason and are looking to make win-now moves.”
Even though Peters is recovering from a major injury, it doesn’t feel like there are many positives to trading away the All-Pro cornerback. Baltimore has built up their depth in the secondary to account for any time Peters misses as he finishes up his recovery, and it doesn’t feel likely that the team could add a better player than Peters with the $10 million in cap savings they would get for him. Plus, it’s unclear if Peters would even be able to generate a return package worth dealing for based on what he brings to the Ravens both on and off of the field.
Peters has become an extremely integral part of the Baltimore defense, and his presence on the field was missed in a big way during the 2021 season. He and cornerback Marlon Humphrey form one of the best duos in the NFL when healthy, and to split that up would hurt the Ravens’ depth at cornerback. Peters has stated he hopes to spend the rest of his career in Baltimore, which would be an ideal path for both the veteran and the organization.