Don’t let anyone tell you the Kansas City Chiefs were out of options on Marcus Peters. They were not.
I won’t argue that Marcus Peters was a terribly fun player for Andy Reid to coach.
I won’t refute reports that Peters wanted to leave Kansas City. That very well may be true. But for Andy Reid, whose only Super Bowl season came handcuffed to Terrell Owens, to declare that Marcus Peters wasn’t worth the trouble anymore?
That’s waving the white flag at least two years too soon.
Friday’s stunning trade led to compounding reports and speculation that Marcus Peters was never going to re-sign in Kansas City, which I’ve talked about excessively this week. But here’s the thing: I don’t care if Marcus Peters didn’t want to be here for the 2021 season. He should have been here up until that point, at least through 2019.
The Chiefs’ best chance to win a Super Bowl was supposed to be in 2019. You enter the second year of Patrick Mahomes as your starter and the team is still in control of Justin Houston, Eric Berry, Chris Jones, Travis Kelce, Kareem Hunt, Kendall Fuller and Marcus Peters. You maintain a flexible salary cap situation and can supplement pieces where needed. All of the most vital spots on the field are locked in. Now, one of the most important position groups on the field is left in turmoil and you’ve removed the NFL’s best defensive playmaker over the last three years from your roster.
The Chiefs hit the lottery when they drafted Marcus Peters, and now they’ve shipped him off for a few more scratch-offs.
By the way, the Chiefs could have franchise-tagged Peters for 2020 and potentially even 2021, giving the Chiefs two or three years of prime Super Bowl contention. Then Peters leaves for the west coast and you get a compensatory pick or try trading him while he’s still tagged. Either way, at least you take your shot while your window is most widely opened.
Today, the Chiefs decided that Marcus Peters wasn’t worth the difficulties. That paints Andy Reid in a very poor light. I dive down that rabbit hole and talk about the trade in great depth on today’s show.
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