Vikings Could Sign Marcus Peters In NFL Free Agency?

The Minnesota Vikings came into the 2023 offseason with a few glaring needs on their roster. Arguably the biggest need was in the secondary, where Minnesota struggled in 2022. The Vikings were 31st in passing yards allowed as they were routinely beaten through the air.

To make matters worse, their best cornerback in 2022, Patrick Peterson, was hitting free agency. It didn’t take long for him to find a new home, as he agreed to a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Minnesota did make an upgrade in free agency, signing Byron Murphy away from the Arizona Cardinals. However, it will take more than one player to help turn around that unit in 2023. 2022 second-round pick Andrew Booth Jr. returning healthy and living up to his draft pedigree would certainly help, but the team shouldn’t rely solely on that.

Instead, they should look to the free agent market for another upgrade. One player that would be an ideal fit for their defense is Marcus Peters. Peters has been one of the best playmakers in the NFL at the cornerback position since joining the league in 2015 as a first-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs.

In 2022, Peters battled some injuries, appearing in only 13 games. It led to him not recording multiple interceptions in a season for the first time in his career. In each of the first six seasons, Peters had at least three interceptions.

While some may see this as a big risk for the Vikings, as Peters did miss the entire 2021 season because of injury, they need as much help as they can get. He was an All-Pro performer as recently as 2019 and should perform at a higher level another year removed from the torn ACL he suffered in 2021.

Even if Peters doesn’t improve significantly over what he was able to do in 2022, that would still be a sizable upgrade for the Vikings. His experience would be nice to have around as well as every other cornerback currently on Minnesota’s roster is still on a rookie contract.