The Baltimore Ravens made news this week when the team made a significant move for a cornerback. Baltimore signed former Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders CB Rock Ya-Sin to a one-year deal, which signaled that a reunion with Marcus Peters was probably no longer in the cards. The two-time First-Team All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler spent the past three seasons in Baltimore and despite being hampered by injuries, Peters still ranks among the upper echelon of cornerbacks in the league.
That’s why John Harbaugh is not closing the door on him returning to Baltimore.
The 30-year-old is still one of the top free agents available on the market, and yet, the Ravens appeared to be moving on in a different direction, going with Ya-Sin and Marlon Humphrey as their starting cornerbacks. Baltimore also selected Stanford’s Kyu Blu Kelly in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, while Jalyn Armour-Davis was a fourth-round pick in last year’s draft class.
“You don’t close the door on good players and good people,” Harbaugh said Saturday, via The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec.
It’s clear that the Ravens’ head coach still values Peters, despite him playing in just 27 games over the past three seasons. Peters missed the entire 2021 season after tearing his ACL. He returned to the fold in 2022 and played in just 13 games, recording 47 total tackles, six passes defended and one interception. Peters had recorded at least two interceptions in every season since entering the league in 2015 so that lone pick was a statistical rarity.
While Peters clearly has lost a step, he’s still one of the better cornerbacks in the league when healthy. It remains to be seen if the Ravens feel the same way and if the two sides can then find common ground.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.