Revisit LA Rams CB Peters and Ramsey trades

LA Rams traded CB Marcus Peters to Baltimore Ravens, helping them to earn bye in NFL Playoffs. Meanwhile Jacksonville Jaguars traded CB Jalen Ramsey to Rams. Who won trade?

Former LA Rams CB Marcus Peters was certainly a very talented player. But he was also very high maintenance, and controversial.  To be more precise, he created controversy during almost his entire time with the LA Rams. So much so, that he eventually was traded by the Rams to the Baltimore Ravens.

From the moment he arrived to the team from the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2018, Peters brought drama – both the good and the bad variety.  Once a top cornerback in the NFL, Peters simply could not adapt to the Rams style of play.

Peters reads receivers and plays off the quarterback’s eyes.  But the Rams defend by scheme.  The mix showed up as bad play by Peters time and again. All the while, the Rams faced Peters’ contract expiration in 2020.  The likelihood of retaining Peters via a new contract seemed less and less likely with each game. Even worse, there was little incentive for the team to hold contract renewal negotiations.

By October 2019, the Rams had enough, and elected to go in a different direction. Shedding an under-performing Peters was the NFL equivalent of a salary dump. The objective was not to “get what he might be worth”, but rather to get the best possible return to shed his contract and salary cap hit.