There are plenty of intriguing veterans available on the list of free agents still waiting for some team to call them (or at least to call them with a strong enough offer) in the National Football League. Only a few weeks from training camp, most of these veterans have to be wondering just where they will call home for the next several months while others question whether anyone will call at all.
Some of the bigger names available among NFL free agents are actually tantalizing players with ties to the Kansas City Chiefs. It's safe to wonder how much is left in the tank in some cases, but an inspection into the free agent profile of others shows that some former Chiefs deserve far more credit for what they've been able to do since leaving K.C.
Let's take a look at some of the top free agents available in the NFL with connections to the Chiefs and what likely awaits them as the summer progresses.
Marcus Peters, CB
This marriage had so much potential. It was also incredibly mercurial.
Marcus Peters came into the NFL as a former first-round selection out of Washington who quickly turned heads as a generational ballhawk in the Chiefs secondary. While he could get caught taking the occasional risk, the rewards were almost always worth the effort knowing how quickly Peters could turn the tide of a game.
That said, the Chiefs knew that wasn't descriptive of the entire package and some facets of having Peters around were not worth the effort. Thus the trade that sent him to the Baltimore Ravens for the picks that became Juan Thornhill and Armani Watts.
That's too bad that Peters could never fully reign in his emotions while with the Chiefs. While he has his detractors, the truth is that Peters was a turnover machine. He has the most interceptions in the NFL since 2015 and that even includes a complete season lost to injury after he went down with an ACL early in 2021. Just last season he returned and only put up one interception and teams have to wonder what's left in the tank after such an injury.
How will Peters look another year removed from the injury? A player who takes such risks in the secondary relies not only on his instincts but upon that quick burst and elite agility in order to be in position to make those plays (and not get burned). But if Peters has lost a bit too much, he could quickly hit the wall as a veteran in this unkind league. It will be interesting to see where he signs and what sort of opportunity he's given in 2023.